FARM SCIENCE 

SPILLMAN 




WORLD BOOK COMPANY 





Class ^ ^ ^ 5 

Book 'S "I 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



NEW-WORLD AGRICULTURE SERIES 
Edited by W. J. Spillman 

FARM SCIENCE 

A Foundation Textbook on 

AGRICULTURE 



By W. J. SPILLMAN, D.Sc. 

Chief of the Office of Farm Management 

United States Department of Agriculture 

Formerly Professor of Agriculture in the Washington State College 

Professor of Science in Vincennes University, Indiana 

Professor of Science in the Monmouth, Oregon, State Normal School 

Professor of Science in the Cape Girardeau, Missouri, State Normal School 

ILLUSTRATED 

from photographs, and with 

original drawings by 

R. C. Steadmafi and 

y. M. Shull 




Tonkers-on-Hudsoriy New Tork 

WORLD BOOK COMPANY 

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WORLD BOOK COMPANY 

THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE 
Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson 

YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NeW YoRK 

2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago 






This house aims to publish books that apply ^ 

the world's knowledge to the world's needs. f~ [)( /\ 
At a time when the rate of increase in crop ^ Ci ^ 
area in this country is less than half the rate 
of increase in population, and when the pub- 
lic generally recognizes that food production 
has become the limiting factor in our further 
development as an industrial people, it is 
highly desirable that the field of agriculture 
should be more adequately covered by school 
texts than is now the case. This book is the 
beginning of a series of such texts, to be 
edited by W. J. Spillman. Present knowl- 
edge of agriculture has been derived from 
thousands of years of farm experience, 
supplemented in recent years by patient 
research on the part of agricultural scien- 
tists. The books of the New- World Agri- 
culture .Series will attempt to cover both 
these phases of agricultural knowledge 



NWAS: SFS-I 



Copyright, 1918, by World Book Company 

Copyright in Great Britain 

All rights reserved 

.... . , ^ Sc!.A5U17;:j3 
olP I i I9l8 



PREFACE 

The aim of this book is to explain to the farm boy the 
facts about farming that have puzzled him. There are 
many mysteries that are not mysteries to the average boy, 
for the simple reason that he has never recognized their exist- 
ence. No attempt is made in these pages to introduce the 
student to new mysteries except such as are necessary in 
connection with a proper explanation of those he has actually 
met in his experience on the farm. The primary idea under- 
lying the book is to enable the farm boy to understand the 
reasons for the things he has observed but does not under- 
stand. 

Many of the schools in which it is hoped this book will be 
used have no special laboratory equipment. For this reason 
the experiments outlined at the end of the various chapters 
require no apparatus and, for the most part, no materials 
not readily obtainable on the farm. It is believed such ex- 
periments will convey to the student the lessons intended, 
more certainly than those that must be conducted with 
apparatus of a pattern unfamiliar to him. They do not 
require the student to think in a new and strange language. 

No attempt has been made to make the book "practical" 
in the sense of teaching those things the farmer usually learns 
by experience. The aim has been rather to enable the stu- 
dent to understand why things are as he knows them to be. 
It therefore deals with fundamental principles, which are the 
same everywhere, and which are valuable guides in ail the 
work of the farm. It is thus adapted to one locality about 
as well as to another. A book intended to give practical 
directions for doing things on the farm might be valuable in 
a particular locality ij written with special reference to that 
locality, but would be of little value for classroom use else- 
where. The author believes that when agriculture is put 
in proper pedagogical form, the textbook will deal with prin- 



vi Preface 

ciples rather than with the details of practice, and this ideal 
has been adhered to in preparing the text. The teaching of 
farm practice requires a manual, or a series of manuals, to 
be used as guides in actual farm work. 

The attempt has been made to put the subject matter in 
a form suitable for classroom use. In this matter the author 
has followed closely the structure of those textbooks which 
in his seventeen years' experience as a teacher he has found 
most satisfactory for this purpose. The degree of success at- 
tained in this respect can be determined only by experience. 
The author would welcome any criticisms or suggestions that 
would enable him to make the book more useful to the farm 
boys of America, for whom it has been written. 

The illustrations used in the text have been obtained 
to a large extent from the files of government bureaus. 
Acknowledgment is here made of the author's indebtedness 
to the many individuals who have so generously permitted 
the use of material of this character, or who have given help- 
ful suggestions as to choice of illustrations; also to Mr. M. 
B. Waite and Professor C. V. Piper, for suggestions as to 
treatment of fungi, to Professor C. F. Marbut, for sugges- 
tions concerning the chapters dealing with soils, and to my 
colleague, Professor J. W. Ritchie, for many helpful sug- 
gestions. For the original drawings which have been made 
of a number of subjects, expressions of appreciation are 
due the artists, Messrs. J. M. Shull and R. C. Steadman, 
for their cooperation with the author in carrying his sugges- 
tions through to completion. 



CONTENTS 



PART ONE — THE SOIL 

CHAPTER 

I. What the Soil Is . . . 
Distribution of Soil Material 
Soil Texture .... 
jMoisture in the Soil 

Tillage 

Terracing, Drainage, Irrigation, and Dry Farming 



PAGE 

I 
21 

33 
49 
6o 

74 



Soil Improvement 93 



PART TWO — THE PL 



8. Plant Organs and Their Uses 

9; How Plants Live 

10. Fertilizers 

11. Plant Propagation 

12. Weeds. 

13. Insect Pests 

14. Fungi 



ANT 



121 
129 

155 
162 
186 
192 
201 



PART THREE — THE ANIMAL 

15. Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept on the 

Farm 221 

16. Breeds of Livestock 233 

17. Principles of Feeding . . . . . .256 

PART FOUR — THE FARM 

18. The Farm Business 265 

19. How to Secure Best Results from Growing Crops 285 

20. Livestock Enterprises 303 

21. The Farm Investment and Income . . -32^ 



Index 



336 



PART ONE — THE SOIL 
CHAPTER ONE 

WHAT THE SOIL IS 

The four layers of the earth. The outermost portion 
of the earth is the atmosphere. We Hve at the bottom 
of an ocean of air. We are to learn that air is all-impor- 
tant to life, both plant and animal. 

The second layer of the earth consists of water, but 
this layer covers only about three fourths of the earth's 
surface. Water plays as important a part in the main- 
tenance of life as does air. 

The third layer consists of the loose material we call 
earth, dirt, or soil. It covers the whole earth except 
in steep or exposed places where rain washes it away 
and leaves the underlying rocks bare. It extends under 
all the oceans. In reality only a few inches of the sur- 
face of the loose dirt layer, and that only on dry land, is 
properly called soil. The thickness of the loose dirt layer 
varies from almost nothing to many hundreds of feet. 

The fourth layer consists of solid rock, which extends 
downward as far as we know anything about the struc- 
ture of the earth. 

The soil is the foundation of agriculture, and it is 
fitting that we should begin our study of this important 
and interesting subject by learning what we can about 
the soil. 

FACTS FROM OTHER SCIENCES 

Before we can understand some of the processes con- 
cerned in the making of soil material, we need to learn a 



2 Farm Science 

few facts from other sciences. Such of these facts as 
are necessary are given below. 

The magnet. Nearly every one knows that a magnet 
will pick up small pieces of iron. It is not so wejl known 
that the quantity of iron a magnet will thus pick up and 
hold is quite limited, and that when this quantity has 
been brought in contact with the magnet, the latter 
appears to lose all power of magnetic attraction for 
additional iron. We say its magnetism has been 
" saturated." A knowledge of this property of magnets 
will help us to understand the principles of chemistry. 

The atom. All substances are composed of small 
particles called atoms. These are so small that they 
cannot be seen even with the best microscope ever 
made. How we know of the existence of atoms, and of 
their exceedingly small size, is a story much too long 
to tell here. It is told in the science of chemistry. 

So far as we know, there are only about 90 different 
kinds of atoms in the entire universe. The spectroscope 
tells us that the distant stars have, for the most part, 
the same kinds of atoms in them as those that compose 
substances here on the earth. All the numerous sub- 
stances known are composed of these 90 odd kinds of 
atoms united in various proportions. There is some 
uncertainty as to the exact number of kinds of atoms, 
for some of them occur only in rare substances, and chem- 
ists have not yet fully proved the existence of some of 
the kinds that are believed, but not certainly known, 
to exist. 

Most kinds of atoms have strong attractions for each 
other, but the attraction between some kinds is stronger 



What the Soil Is 3 

than that between others. Atoms are, in fact, small 
magnets, and like magnets, their attractions can be 
saturated. This means that an atom may be so united 
with other atoms that its attraction for additional 
atoms disappears. But with very few exceptions, an 
atom which has been torn loose from all combination 
with other atoms will attach itself to almost any kind 
of atom it can find. 

Molecules. When two or more atoms join into a 
group in which the attracting power of each is satisfied, 
the group is called a molecule, a word meaning " little 
body." Such a body can exist alone indefinitely unless 
the group of atoms constituting it is violently broken 
apart. 

The atoms of quicksilver have a peculiarity possessed 
by few, if any, other kinds of atoms. They will unite 
readily enough with several other kinds to form mole- 
cules, but they do not unite with each other, so that 
when this substance is obtained in a pure form, its atoms 
remain apart as if their attractions were satisfied. We 
do not know why this is, but it is probably due to some 
peculiarity in the structure of these atoms which enables 
them actually to satisfy their own attractions. If we de- 
fine the molecule of a substance as the smallest particle 
of that substance that can exist alone indefinitely, then 
we may say that the molecules of quicksilver consist of 
a single atom. The molecules of other substances con- 
sist of two or more atoms so united that the attracting 
power of each atom is satisfied. 

Elementary and compound substances. When the 
atoms in a molecule are all of the same kind, the sub- 



4 Farm Science 

stance composed of such molecules is said to be an ele- 
mentary substance — it consists of a single chemical 
element. Iron is an elementary substance. Copper 
and sulfur are others. 

If the molecules of a substance are made up of two 
or more kinds of atoms, the substance is said to be 
compound. Such a substance is composed of two or 
more chemical elements. Common table salt is a 
compound substance. Its molecules are made up of 
two atoms, - — one atom of the element sodium and one 
of the element chlorin. When sodium atoms are united 
with each other, they form the molecules of the metal 
sodium, an elementary substance. When chlorin atoms 
are united with each other, they form the elementary 
substance chlorin, which is a yellowish, very offensive- 
smelling gas. But when an atom of sodium unites 
with one of chlorin, they form a molecule of the com- 
pound which we call salt. 

The molecules of some compound substances contain 
many atoms of several different kinds. 

There can be, of course, only as many different kinds 
of elementary substances as there are kinds of atoms, 
while the number of compound substances is practically 
unlimited. 

Chemical symbols. Chemists have invented a simple 
and convenient set of symbols for the various elementary 
substances. The symbol for an element is usually the 
first letter of its name. Thus C is the symbol for car- 
bon, O for oxygen, H for hydrogen, I for iodin, etc. In 
some cases the names of several elements begin with 
the same letter. In such cases the symbol may consist 



What the Soil Is 5 

of two letters of the name, usually the first two, or of 
one or more letters of the Latin name. Examples : 
calcium, Ca ; chlorin, CI ; iron, Fe (Latin, Jerruni) ; 
sodium, Na (Latin, natrium). Some of the elements 
of which we shall see a great deal in this book are, with 
their symbols, nitrogen, N ; phosphorus, P ; and potas- 
sium, K (Latin, kalium).. 

Meaning of chemical symbols. Chemical symbols 
are used in two ways. First, they are often used merely 
as abbreviations for the names of the elements, to save 
time in writing and speaking. The second and more im- 
portant use is to represent a single atom of an element. 
Thus " CaO " represents a molecule of quicklime, com- 
posed, as its symbol indicates, of one atom of calcium 
and one of oxygen. Some kinds of molecules have two 
or more atoms of the same kind in them. Thus a mole- 
cule of oxygen consists of two atoms of oxygen, and its 
molecular symbol is Oo. A molecule of water consists 
of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen ; its symbol 
is HoO. The molecular symbol of limestone is CaCOa, 
which means that a limestone molecule consists of one 
atom of calcium, one of carbon, and three of oxygen. 
The molecular symbol of carbonic acid gas is CO2. 

Chemical reactions. When limestone is heated, the 
change that occurs is represented as follows : 

CaCOg -> CaO + COo 

limestone — ^ quicklime + cart)onic acid gas 

This means that the molecule of limestone breaks 
up and the atoms rearrange themselves into one mole- 
cule of quicklime and one of carbonic acid gas. This 



6 Farm Science 

formation of new molecules from old ones is called a 
chemical reaction. In such reactions the atoms rearrange 
themselves so that in each case every atom has its power 
of attraction satisfied. 

When we add water to quicklime, as is done in slak- 
ing it, the following reaction occurs : 

CaO + HoO -^ CaOoHz 

quicklime + water — ^ slaked lime 

a new arrangement of atoms by which a molecule of 
quicklime and a molecule of water unite to form a mole- 
cule of slaked lime. The molecular symbol Ca02H2 
is usually written Ca(0H)2, for reasons which we need 
not explain here. 

Experiments 

1. Get at a lumberyard, or elsewhere, a chunk of quick- 
lime. Place it on a board or in a shallow box. Pour water 
on it, a little at a time, till it has completely crumbled. The 
water unites molecule by molecule with the quicklime, form- 
ing slaked lime. Since the newly formed molecules are 
larger than the molecules of quicklime, they cannot occupy 
the same space ; hence the crumbling. 

The quicklime may become very hot in this experiment. 
Take care not to set anything on fire with it. What would 
happen if a hard rain should fall on a wagon box full of 
quicklime? 

2. Blow the breath through a straw into a glass of clean 
drinking water. Nothing happens. Now take a fresh glass 
of the same water and put some of the slaked lime in it — say, 
a tablespoonful. Stir up the slaked lime in the water and 
then let it settle. Pour off the clear liquid into another 
glass, being careful not to get any of the sediment. Now 
blow the breath into this clear liquid (limewater). The 
cloudiness that follows is due to chemical reaction between 



What the Soil Is 7 

the carbonic acid gas in the breath and the slaked Hme dis- 
solved in the water, as follows : 

CaOsHs + CO2 -^ CaCOs + HoO 

In this reaction the atoms of a molecule of slaked lime and 
a molecule of carbonic acid gas rearrange themselves so as 
to form a molecule of limestone and a molecule of water. 
While slaked lime is somewhat soluble in water, limestone 
is not, or at least very slightly so. Hence the newly formed 
molecules of limestone collect into small particles that ap- 
pear as a fine white powder suspended in the water. A 
solid thus formed in a liquid in which it is not soluble is called 
a precipitate. 

Continue to blow the breath into the cloudy water for 
several minutes, and suddenly the liquid will become per- 
fectly clear again. The reason is as follows : the slaked 
lime in solution is finally all used up in forming limestone. 
As soon as this occurs, the additional carbonic acid gas in the 
breath becomes dissolved in the water, and the following 
reaction occurs : 

CaCOg + COo + H2O -> CaH2(C03)2 

This means that one molecule of limestone, one of car- 
bonic acid gas, and one of water unite to form a molecule of 
acid calcium carbonate. This latter substance is readily sol- 
uble in water, and dissolves as fast as it is formed. When 
the limestone is all used up in the reaction, the liquid becomes 
clear again. 

HOW SOIL MATERIAL ORIGINATES 

Chemical action. We are now equipped with sufhcient 
knowledge of chemistry to understand some of the 
most important processes in soil formation. 

The original rocks of the earth's crust are at all times 
subjected more or less to the action of water, air, and 



8 Farm Science 

numerous substances found in the soil. Chemical re- 
actions are going on continually in the soil, and between 
the underlying solid rocks and substances in solution 
in the soil water that comes in contact with them. In 
this way the rocks are slowly broken down and converted 
into fine soil material, much as quicklime crumbles 
when slaked. 

Most of the rocks of the earth's crust contain grains of 
quartz and other materials not easily affected by chemi- 
cal agents, along with materials that are easily attacked. 
The more resistant grains remain to form the bulk of 
the soil after the more soluble ones have been dissolved 
by soil water and carried away. The soil is thus com- 
posed mainly of small rock particles of many sizes and 
kinds, though quartz grains make up the greater part 
of all ordinary soils. 

In most parts of the country you can find stones that, 
when broken, show plainly in their outer portions that 
they have been changed by the action of water, air, or 
other substances, and are not so hard as in their inner 
portions. In time all such stones will fall to pieces and 
form soil. 

It is mainly by processes like those described above 
that by far the greater part of the material composing 
the soil was derived from the solid rocks of the earth's 
crust. These processes are going on now just as they 
have always gone on. This is why the surface of the 
earth is nearly everywhere covered with dirt. It is 
only in exposed places where the dirt washes away as 
fast as it is formed that we find the bare rocks that extend 
down into the depths of the earth. 



What the Soil Is 



How ice aids in soil formation. Those who live in 
cold climates know that when the water in a water pipe 





Fig. I. The Great Stone Face in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 
Water creeps into the crevice behind and underneath the " cap," and freezes. 
The force of expansion is so great that the cap stone, weighing thousands of 
tons, is moved outward each winter. It is now being put back in position, 
and the crevice closed with cement. 

freezes, it bursts the pipe. Because of this the pipes 
that bring water into the house are buried deep in the 
ground to keep them from freezing. The reason for 
the bursting is that water expands while freezing, and 
thus the ice occupies more space than did the water 
from which it was formed. This is because the mole- 
cules of ice are arranged in needlelike crystals, with 
more or less open space between the crystals, while in 
water the molecules have no particular arrangement, 
but move freely about among each other. 

Figure i shows the enormous expansive force exerted 
by freezing water. Every time the water freezes in 
the crevice behind and under the " cap " of the Great 
Stone Face, the huge cap, which weighs several thousand 
tons, is moved outward a little. Engineers have re- 
cently been at work moving this cap back into place 
and filling the crevice with cement to keep the water out. 



lo Farm Science 

Nearly all stones or rocks have crevices in them that 
get full of water. When the water freezes, the expansion 
breaks the stones, or at least chips off pieces of them. 
The repeated freezing and thawing of water in the crev- 
ices of rocks thus helps in the process of breaking up 
the rocks to form soil material. 

How rolling stones form soil. In a freshet the stones 
lying in the bed of a stream are rolled considerable 
distances. Every time one of these stones strikes an- 
other, pieces are chipped from both. Every one has 
seen rounded stones, like those shown in Figure 2, that 
are found in stream beds or in places where they were 
left by flood waters. Each of these stones was sharp- 
cornered when it was first split from a larger stone. 
What has become of the sharp corners? They have 
been worn off piece by piece, and these pieces now con- 
stitute part of the soil, especially in river and creek 
bottoms. However, there are in some regions rounded 
stones not formed in this manner. 

A little figuring will show that a good deal of soil 
comes from this source. (See problem at end of this 
chapter.) If we grind off the corners of a cubical stone 
till it is perfectly round, we take off nearly half of it. 
From the number of water-worn stones found in most 
parts of the country, it is clear that no small part of 
the fine material we now call soil must have originated 
in this manner, though not nearly so much as was formed 
by the action of air, water, etc., in causing stones to 
fall to pieces. 

The part played by glaciers. Both the north and the 
south pole of the earth are covered by thick layers of 



What the Soil Is 



ir 




Office of Farm Management 
Fig. 2. Water-worn stones in the bed of a stream. Each of these stones was 
sharp-cornered at one time. What has been worn off from them is now soil. 

snow, compacted more or less into solid ice. These 
are called the " polar ice caps." Through the tele- 
scope we can see caps of this kind on the poles of the 
planet Mars. 

Several times in the distant past the climate of the 
earth became much colder than it is now. During these 
long periods of low temperature, sometimes lasting for 
thousands of years, the polar ice caps spread out till they 
covered a large part of the earth. The north polar cap 
at one time came down to about where the Ohio River 
now is. In places the ice was several thousand feet 
thick, being thicker northward, of course. While ice 
is solid, it is not so solid as iron, for it will flow a little, 
just as very thick molasses does.^ The ice cap slowly 
spread out (flowed) from the north, where it was thick- 

^ By subjecting a block of ice to very gradual pressure, it can be 
bent into any shape desired; but if subjected to sudden pressure, ice is 
very brittle. 



12 



Farm Science 




U . S. Cieologiciil Survey 
Fig. 3. Bed rock marked by rocks embedded in glaciers flowing ovcr it during 
the glacial period. Such rocks are found in many parts of the northern states. 



est, toward the south. Its enormous weight pressed 
into its lower surface much of the loose dirt and stones 
beneath it. These were dragged along the surface of 
the earth, grinding against everything they touched. 

Many rocks were thus ground into fine powder, and 
much soil material was formed in this manner. Figure 
3 shows a rock surface that was ground and scratched 
by the stones embedded in glacial ice moving slowly 
over it. In Figure 4 are shown stones that were em- 
bedded in the ice and were scratched by the rocks over 
which they were dragged. Such stones may be seen 
in any geological museum. 

In its flow, a glacier would frequently meet with 
obstacles, causing it to buckle up here and there, turn 



What the Soil Is 13 

this way and that, and thus frequently bring what was 
formerly the bottom ice to the top. In this way the 
stones and dirt became well distributed throughout 
the mass of the glacier, as is seen to be the case with 
the modern mountain glacier shown in Figure 5, page 14. 

Finally, when the climate changed again, and it be- 
came warmer on the earth, the southern edge of the 
northern ice cap melted, and the millions of tons of 
rocks and dirt embedded in it were left on the earth's 
surface (Fig. 6, page 15). In some places the layer of 
earth thus deposited is a hundred feet or more in thick- 
ness. The surface soil of most of the region lying north 
of the Ohio and Missouri rivers is of this character. 
Much of it is merely dirt that the ice picked up and 
carried along with it as it flowed slowly southward. In 
some places there are four or five layers of this material, 
indicating that what is described above took place 
several times. 

How so-called limestone soils are formed. In some 
large areas in this country the rocks seen in the bluffs 




U. S. Geological Survey 

Fig. 4. Rocks once embedded in glaciers and scratched by being dragged 
over bed rock. 



14 



Farm Science 




Harry Fielding Reid 

Fig. 5. End of a modern mountain glacier, showing rocks and dirt embedded 

in the ice. 



along the streams are limestone. This is the case in 
part of the Ozark Region of southern Missouri and north- 
ern Arkansas, and in a large part of Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee. (See map facing page 32.) Now the atmos- 
phere contains a small percentage of carbonic acid gas, 
and this gas is readily soluble in water. Rain therefore 
carries into the soil considerable quantities of this gas. 
More of it is formed in the soil as the result of the decay 
of plant and animal remains. We have already learned 
that water containing carbonic acid gas in solution will 
dissolve limestone. Because of the small amount of 
this gas in soil water, the action of water in dissolving 



What the Soil Is 



15 



limestone is very slow ; but in areas where the rock 
underneath the soil is limestone, the upper surface of 
the stone is at all times being slowly dissolved away 
and carried back to the ocean, whence it originally came. 
But all limestone has embedded in it small particles of 
other kinds of rock that are not so easily dissolved and 
carried away. In some cases it contains large masses 
of flint, as well as many other kinds of mineral sub- 
stances. When the limestone is dissolved away, these 
less soluble mineral particles are left as soil. Soils 
formed in this manner are usually called limestone soils, 
but where the rainfall is heavy, and especially if the 
resulting soil is rather porous, they may be very poor in 
lime, even where the limerock is only a few feet below 
the surface. 



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U. S. Geolo(.ical Suney 
Fig. 6. Soil material once embedded in a glacier, and deposited on the surface 
when the glacial ice melted. The gravelly character of this soil is character- 
istic of most glacial soils. 



i6 



Farm Science 







.^v'oV 



.*^ 



fcx^ <r ^ 






Q^ce of Farm Managevient 
Fig. 7. Flint rock once embedded in limestone, which was dissolved away. 
Smaller particles of soil washed to foot of hill, leaving rocky hillside. 

In Figure 7 is shown a rocky soil that originated 
in the manner here described. In this case the original 
limestone contained a great deal of flint, often in large 
masses, though these masses had nearly always been 
broken into relatively small pieces by the forces that 
everywhere cause large rock masses to become cracked 
and broken. Figure 7 shows a hillside from which the 
rain has washed all the finer soil particles, leaving only 
the larger rocks to form the surface. Part of the fine 
dirt that was originally formed here is now lying in the 
valley at the foot of the hill. 

The soils of the famous Bluegrass Region of Kentucky 
and of the Central Basin of Tennessee are derived from 
limestone that had much less flint in it, and they are not 
rocky like the soil shown in Figure 7. There is also 
a large area of soil in western Texas that was formed 



What the Soil Is 17 

from limestone in the manner here outlined. Smaller 
areas occur elsewhere. Look up these areas on the map 
facing page 32. 

The part played by plants and animals in forming 
soils. In the preceding paragraphs we have seen how 
the httle rock particles that form by far the greater 
part of the soil came to be little particles instead of large 
stones. A good soil, however, contains something 
besides little pieces of stone. Plant roots rot in the 
soil. Leaves and stems fall to the surface, become mixed 
with dirt, and soon fall to pieces by decay. Uncounted 
millions of worms and bugs, mice, gophers, etc., die in 
the soil or on its surface. All these decaying remains 
of plants and animals are part of what we call the soil. 
Although they form only a small part of the substance 
of the soil, they are highly important to its fertility, as 
we shall see presently. 

Chemical changes going on in the soil. You have 
noticed what happens to a piece of old iron that lies in 
contact with the damp soil for a few years. In the 
presence of moisture and air it is attacked by the oxygen 
of the air, with which it unites chemically to form iron 
rust. In time it is completely converted into iron- 
oxygen compounds, and crumbles away much as lime 
does in slaking. The soil contains a great many sub- 
stances, some of mineral origin, others derived from the 
decaying remains of plants and animals, that act on 
each other and on the rocks of the soil in much the same 
manner that air and moisture act on iron, though usually 
much more slowly. Such changes are always going 
on in the soil. The surface of almost every rock particle 



i8 Farm Science 

in the soil is more or less stained and discolored by gummy 
substances that form in the soil as the result of these 
chemical activities. The soil is thus an exceedingly 
complex thing, and hardly any two samples of it are 
exactly alike. This makes it difficult to lay down any 
hard and fast rules for improving the soil. What is 
good for one soil is not always good for another. We 
shall find, however, that much can be learned about how 
to make the soil yield abundant crops. 

WHAT A CUBIC INCH OF SOIL WOULD LOOK LIKE IF 
MAGNIFIED INTO A CUBIC MILE 

Let US imagine, if we can, what a cubic inch of soil 
would look like if we could enlarge it to a cubic mile, 
or if we could reduce ourselves to small creatures that 
could crawl in and out between the particles that con- 
stitute the soil. Some of the little rock particles that 
form most of the bulk of the soil would then appear to 
us to be stones several feet through. Others would be 
no larger than a pea, while there would be still others 
of every size between these extremes. Most of the 
particles would look like the common flint stones seen 
in stream beds and in many regions beside the road, 
for they are indeed only small pieces of flint. But 
there would be an occasional crystal of some beautiful 
mineral that most of us have never seen before, though 
scientists who study minerals could immediately tell 
what each crystal is. 

These stones and crystals would all be stained to 
some extent by the gummy substances derived from 



What the Soil Is 



19 




rotting animal and plant remains, and the surface of 
many of them would be covered by a layer of more or 
less waxy material derived 
from certain mineral com- 
pounds in the soil. 

Scattered through the mass 
of stones we should see pieces 
of decaying plant and animal 
remains, like rotten logs in 
a pile of rocks and gravel. If 
Hving plants were growing on 
the soil, there would be, wind- 
ing in and out amongst the 
stones and penetrating the 

spongy, water-soaked plant and animal fragments, a 
network of living plant roots, pushing aside the stones 
and drinking up the water found in the spaces between 
them and in the decaying plant and animal matter. 
Part of the food which growing plants must have would 
be in solution in this water. Figure 8 gives a greatly 
magnified view of a small sample of soil spread thinly 
on a piece of glass, but the magnification is not nearly 
so great as that we have just been considering. 



Fig. 8. Small sample of soil spread 
out on a glass plate and photo- 
graphed. Greatly magnified. 



Experiments 

The experiments outlined at the ends of the various chap- 
ters of this book may be carried out by the students at their 
homes, by the teacher before the class, or, better still, by 
the members of the class in the presence of the teacher. 

I. An important experiment with the slaking of lime and 
with limewater has already been outlined in the text. This 



20 Farm Science 

is one of the most instructive experiments in the entire realm 
of chemistry, and should by no means be omitted. 

2. Fill a drinking glass as full as possible with ice broken 
into pieces of not too small a size. Then till the glass to 
about one half inch of the top and mark on the outside of 
the glass the height of the water inside. Remove any pieces 
of ice that lean so far outward as to rest on the edge of 
the glass, but leave as much ice projecting above the water 
as possible. Let the ice stand till it has melted. Note 
again the height of the water in the glass. When we 
consider that the entire substance of the ice that at first 
projected above the water has now been added to the water 
in the glass, how can we explain the fact that the water is 
still at the same level? 

Things to Observe 

1. If the common rocks of the locality are granitic, or 
even flint, look for rocks that are crumbling because of the 
action of the elements on them. Look for broken stones 
that show plainly in their outer portions the action of the 
weather. In time these stones will be converted into soil. 

2. Pulverize a small stone with a hammer. Compare 
the resulting material with a sample of soil. Explain the 
difference. 

3. Look for water- worn stones. Where are they most 
commonly found? 

4. Look for pieces of old iron nearly eaten away by rust. 
What has become of the metal ? 

Problem 

If a cubical stone 4 inches each way, and weighing 6 pounds, were 
ground off at the corners till only a 4-inch sphere remained, what 
would the sphere weigh ? How many pounds of soil material would 
the portion ground off make ? 

Note. The volume of the cube is 64 cubic inches. The volume of 
the sphere is f X 3? X 8. The volume of the cube is to that of the 
sphere as the weight of the cube is to that of the sphere. 



CHAPTER TWO 

DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL MATERIAL 

In studying this chapter you should refer frequently 
to the map facing page 32, which shows the location of 
the various soil areas discussed. Learn where the prin- 
cipal soils occur. See if you can tell from the map what 
the general character of the soil is in the region in which 
you live. 

RESIDUAL SOILS 

When soil material remains where it was formed b}' 
the crumbling of the original rocks of the earth's crust, 
it is said to be residual. Generally speaking, it is only 
in the southern half of the eastern United States that 
residual soils are found, though small areas occur else- 
where. 

Residual soils may be divided into three general groups 
according to the kind of rocks from which they were 
formed. These groups are discussed briefly in the fol- 
lowing paragraphs. 

Limestone soils. The map facing page 32 shows that 
in certain areas the soil was formed from limestone. 
This soil, as we learned in the first chapter, consists 
mainly of the insoluble materials that were originally 
embedded in the limestone and were left behind when 
the limestone was removed by solution in soil water ; 
in Chapter One we found that soil water dissolves lime- 
stone when it carries carbonic acid gas in solution, 
which soil water always does to some extent. Soils 
of this kind are usually, though not always, rather 
heavy, such as clay loam or silt loam. (See next chapter.) 
They usually hold their fertility well. 



22 Farm Science 

Sandstone and shale soils. Other areas of residual 
soils were formed by the disintegration (falling to pieces) 
of sandstones and shales. (Sandstones originate from 
the consolidation into stone of beds of sand, while shales 
result from the consolidation of beds of clay.) Find 
these areas on the map. These soils are mostly rather 
coarse in texture (more or less sandy), though this is by 
no means always the case. They are more difficult to 
keep fertile than limestone soils. 

Granitic soils. Lying just east of the Appalachian 
Mountains is a large area in which the soils were formed 
by the disintegration of granite and other highly crys- 
talline rocks. Smaller areas occur elsewhere in this 
country, especially in the mountain states.^ 

Granitic soils are more or less intermediate in char- 
acter between limestone soils on the one hand and sand- 
stone and shale soils on the other, being often a mLxture 
of sand and clay. 

Patches of almost every kind of soil from the lightest 
sands to the heaviest clays are found in each of the 
three great groups of residual soils described above, as 
is indeed the case with those groups to be described 
later. The type mentioned as characteristic of each 
area is merely the prevailing one in that area. 

TRANSPORTED SOILS 

Soils consisting of materials that have been moved 
considerable distances from where they originated are 

1 The soils of the West have not yet been sufficiently studied to per- 
mit their detailed classification. In the mountains the various areas of 
different soils are also too small to represent on a map of this size. 



Distribution of Soil Material 



23 




U. S. Geological Survey 
Fig 9. Bowlders deposited by melting glaciers. 

called transported soils. The principal areas of trans- 
ported soils, together with the agencies which trans- 
ported them, are shown on the map facing page 32 and 
are listed in the legend to the right of it. The classes 
of soils of this character are treated briefly below. 

Glacial soils. The glaciers, the action of which was 
described in Chapter One, transported vast quantities 
of soil material, often for long distances. When the 
ice finally melted, the dirt and rocks embedded in it 
were left to form the surface soil (Fig. 6, page 15). The 
layer of material thus deposited varies in depth from a 
few inches to a hundred feet or more. This ice-borne 
material constitutes the so-called glacial soils of the 
country. Note their location on the map. One large 
area of glacial soil has since been covered by a thin 
layer of wind-borne material. It is that portion of the 



24 Farm Science 

aeolian prairie shown on the map as lying in Illinois, 
Missouri, and Iowa. 

As might be supposed, soils moved about in this 
manner are very much mixed in character. Usually 
they contain some gravel, and sometimes large stones 
like those shown in Figure 9. The stone fences so fre- 
quently seen on New England farms (Fig. 10) owe their 
origin to the great quantity of large stones found on or 
in the surface of the glacial soils of the region. The 
easiest way to get rid of these stones was to carry them 
to the margin of the fields, where they soon accumulated 
in sufficient quantity to be useful in fence building. 
Sometimes they are so numerous that it is impracticable 
to remove them from the land. 

While the greater portion of the soils of the glacial 
region are of excellent quality, there are in some parts 
of the region vast stretches of thin, sandy soil, very low 
in fertility unless carefully managed. 

Sedimentary soils. When muddy water is poured 
into a glass or other vessel, the mud, if it is not too fine- 
grained, will gradually settle to the bottom of the vessel 
and form what we call sediment. There are some nota- 
ble areas of soil in this country that were deposited 
as sediment from muddy water. They are discussed in 
the following paragraphs. 

When soil-forming material settles to the bottom of 
the ocean, it is called marine sediment. A long time 
ago a wide strip of country which is now dry land, 
extending from the eastern end of Long Island through 
where New York City stands and southward around 
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to southern Texas, was 



Distribution of Soil Material 



25 











/ i-w Maiui^imcnl 
Fig. 10. New England stone fence, built from glacial bowlders. The stones 
in this fence have been shaped somewhat to fit them for their purpose. 

below sea level. This strip constitutes the lower half 
of the area lying between the Appalachian Mountains 
and the Atlantic, extending thence westward over a 
large part of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. 
While it was under water, the rivers which flowed into 
the sea along this coast carried down vast quantities 
of sand and finer particles and emptied them into the 
sea. The currents in the ocean and gulf carried some of 
these materials long distances before they finally settled 
to the bottom. Later, when this portion of the continent 
rose above sea level, the new soil thus exposed represented 
sediment that had settled in the ocean. The soils in 
this area are in general quite sandy, though there are 
some areas of heavy clay and other grades between. 
At the present time, similar material is accumulating on 



26 Farm Science 

the floor of the ocean everywhere, but mainly around 
the mouths of rivers. 

When soil particles are buffeted about as these have 
been, all the softer kinds are ground up into material 
so fine that it finally dissolves in the water and disap- 
pears. This leaves a soil composed very largely of the 
harder kinds of rock particles, chiefly flint, an impure 
kind of quartz rock, very hard and insoluble. More 
fertilizers are used in the eastern portion of this area 
than in any other area of similar size in this country. 

Other areas of sedimentary soils, especially in the 
region of the Great Lakes, were formed by sediment 
brought by streams into lakes that no longer exist or 
that have been partially drained by the cutting down 
of their outlets or by the tilting of the earth's crust 
under them. These are called lacustrine soils, or simply 
lake-bottom soils. When not too heavy for good tillage, 
they are usually very fertile. Most lake-bottom soils 
are quite level and must be drained before the}^ can be 
utilized for farming. Note the location of the larger 
areas of lake-bottom soils on the map (facing page 32). 

Alluvial soils. Except swiftly flowing mountain 
streams, nearly all rivers and creeks flow in a level plain 
between two bluffs. This plain is called a '' bottom." 
The soil in a river or creek bottom consists of materials 
that have been washed down from the upstream high- 
lands. Such a soil is said to be alluvial. This word is 
derived from the Latin words which mean " to " and 
" wash " ; this kind of soil has been '' washed to " its 
present location. 

With the exception of the Mississippi River bottom 



Distribution of Soil Material 27 







^^- , i-n^-- •, -n- \mi 

Oifiic if Farm Mdiuurmcnt 

Fig. ii. The soil in this creek bottom is alluvial. It was washed to its 
present location by flood waters. 

(see map), there are no large areas of alluvial soil in 
this country, though narrow strips of it occur along 
the course of nearly every stream. Figure 11 shows 
a creek bottom which is filled with alluvial soil. Such 
soils are usually quite fertile, provided they are not 
too sandy and are well drained. It is sometimes neces- 
sary to build dikes to protect them from overflow; 
otherwise occasional crops are lost from floods. 

iEolian soils. The ancient Romans thought there 
was a separate god for everything in nature. They 
called the supposed god of the winds ^Eolus. From 
this name we get the term ccolian, which is applied to 
soils consisting of dust blown to its present location by 
the wind. These soils, though not covering many large 
areas in this country, are important. Much of the large 
area marked po on the map facing page 32 is of glacial 
origin, but the surface has been covered in times past by 
a thin coat of wind-blown material, so that some geolo- 
gists call it aeolian while others call it glacial soil. 



Farm Science 




Fig. 



Office o] Farm Management (J. S. Cotton) 
12. Farming scene in the Missouri River Valley, showing seolian soil 



where the rainfall is not excessive. Some of the best farm land in America. 

.^olian soils are very fine-grained, for the dust 
blown about by the wind consists almost always of fine 
particles. In some limited areas this wind-blown coat- 
ing of soil is a hundred feet deep or more, though over 
great stretches of country it forms only the surface few 
inches. In fact, the surface soil everywhere consists 
partly of material deposited by the wind. 

The location of the deepest beds of this kind of soil 
gives a hint of why they were formed. Note the wide 
strip of aeolian soil extending down the east bank of 
the Mississippi River. In parts of this area the soil 
is very deep. When the great glaciers covered the 
northern part of the country, the melting ice every 
summer turned loose deluges of water to run down this 
river. The river bottom, which is several miles wide 
in the North, and much wider in the South, at that 
time was flooded practically all summer. In winter 
it dried up, and thus for a time each year the vast ex- 



Distribution of Soil Material 



29 



panse of mud became a tract of dust. The wind, blow- 
ing mostly from the west, caught up this dust and car- 
ried it over the country to the eastward, where it settled 
to form soil. Exactly this process is going on now in 
parts of the Mississippi River bottom, though not on 
so large a scale. In this country tracts of aeolian soil, 
especially where the soil is deep, usually lie just to the 
eastward of some river bottom or other source from 
which dust comes. 

Where the rainfall is not so great as to cause much 
washing, these wind-borne soils are very fertile. Some 
of our best farming land has this kind of soil. (See Figure 
12.) But where the rainfall is very heavy, they wash 
badly, especially when the original forest covering is 
cut away and no effort is made to cover the soil with 




U. S. Geological Survey {SlWivi 
Fig. 13. ^olian soil where the rainfall is excessive. Since the timber was 
cut here, the soil has washed badly. It can be redeemed by planting trees or 
grass. Petrified logs can be seen in the foreground. 



30 Farm Science 

grass to prevent washing. Figure 13 shows what hap- 
pens under such conditions. 

JEolian soils are easily worked, being very even in 
texture and not so fine-grained as to be sticky like 
clay. 

Colluvial soils. The term colluvial is the last new 
term we have to learn in this connection. It is derived 
from two Latin words that mean " washed together." 
You have all noticed the gravel and dirt that fall from 
the face of cliffs and from the sides of mountains, and 
are sometimes washed out considerable distances by 
torrential rains. Figure 14 shows a mass of such ma- 
terial that has fallen from the face of mountain preci- 
pices. Soil that was brought to its present location 
in this manner is termed colluvial. The only difference 
between colluvial and alluvial soils is that the latter are 
the result of the activities of waters confined in narrow 
river channels, which flow relatively slowly, while the 
waters that form colluvial soils are not confined in streams 
and flow swiftly down steep slopes. Colluvial soils 
are usually coarse and gravelly, merely because the 
water that forms them moves sufficiently swiftly to 
carry larger stones and gravel. But some of these soils 
are of very good quality. Some large areas of colluvial 
soil are shown on the soil map facing page 32. They lie 
just eastward of the Rocky Mountains, where the land 
slopes away from the mountains quite rapidly. Small 
areas of colluvial soil, usually quite fertile, are found at 
the foot of almost every hill. 

Colluvial action not confined to mountain slopes and 
blufifs. Where the surface of the land is sloping, every 



Distribution of Soil Material 31 




Office oj Farm Manai;cmfnt (Miller and Thomson) 
Fig. 14. CoUuvial material at the base of precipitous cliffs in the Snake River 
Canyon of Idaho, near the great irrigation district of Twin Falls. 

hard rain moves the surface particles of soil a greater 
or less distance down the face of the slope. That this 
movement may become important as a soil moving 
and mixing agency will become evident when a little 
consideration is given it. If there are ten hard rain 
storms in a year, and if each of them moves a particular 
soil grain a foot down a gentle slope, the grain will 
move ten feet in a year. In 528 years it would move a 
mile. How far would it move in 5280 years, if the slope 
were long enough? It is easily seen that heavy rains 
are an important agency in transporting and mixing 
soil materials. The soil practically every^vhere is thus 
moved and mixed. What constitutes the surface soil at 
a given spot is usually not the same material found there 
a century ago. 



32 Farm Science 

Observation Trip 

After this chapter has been studied, it will help to fasten 
the facts hi mind, and to make them more real, if the teacher 
and students spend some Saturday afternoon going over the 
region in the vicinity of the school to look for soil areas that, 
from their location or character, appear to be of the various 
classes described in the text — such as residual, glacial, 
alluvial, coUuvial, etc. Unfortunately, only a few of the 
classes will be found in any one locality ; but there will nearly 
always be at least two classes, one of them alluvial. Along 
the base of hills and bluffs there will be some colluvial soil, 
material that has been washed down from the face of the 
declivity. The map facing this page will show the class of 
soil prevailing generally in most localities. It will be under- 
stood, of course, that there are many small areas of most of 
the classes of soils that cannot be represented on a small 
map. Hence, some schools will be situated on lake-bottom 
soil, for instance, where the map shows only glacial soil, 
and so for each of the other kinds. If the teacher will write 
to the State University of his state, the professor of geology 
will usually be able to tell him the exact kind of soil in his 
region. 




ORIGIN 



OF 



SOIL MATERIALS 



WEST 

Arid Lands I R I 
Timbered Lands CMI] 

EAST 

Residual Soils 

Limestone I L I 



Sand and Shale I s I 
Granite I G I 

Transported Soils 
Water 

! Sedimentary 

I Marine I M I 



c 
p- 

c 

93 



j Lake 
I Alluvial 
[Colluvial 

Ice 

[Timbered 
j Prairie 

Wind 
[Timbered 



CKJ 
CUD 



JIa. 



Prairie 



fTo" 




ORIGIN 

OF 

SOIL MATERIALS 



WEST 

Arid Lands I R 1 

Timbered Lands [ml] 

EAST 

Residual Soils 

LimeBtone I L I 

Sand and Shale I s I 
Granite I G I 



Transported Soils 
Water 

Sedimentary 

Marine I M I 

Lake nrn 

Alluvial rin 

Colluvial JTH 

Ice 

(Timbered dU 

[Prairie rw~\ 

Wind 

[Timbered I To I 

I Prairie rP^ 



CHAPTER THREE 

SOIL TEXTURE 

The "' texture " of a soil is determined by the sizes 
of the particles of which it is composed and the pro- 
portion that the particles of each size bear to the 
whole soil. In order to talk understandingly about soil 
texture, we must therefore learn something about the 
sizes of the rock particles that compose the bulk of the 
soil. Soil grains larger than oV inch in diameter ^ are 
called gravel; those smaller than this, but larger than 
-5-^ inch, are called sand; those between -5-^ inch and 
g-oW ii^ch are called silt; while still smaller ones are 
called clay. Almost all soils consist of mixtures of soil 
grains of many different sizes. It is mainly the differ- 
ence in the percentage of the different sizes that makes 
the difference in texture between different soils, al- 
though the chemical constitution of the soil grains also 
has its influence on texture. Coarse, sandy soils have 
mostly large particles in them, while clay soils consist 
mostly of small particles. 

The following table of sizes of soil particles is given 
merely for reference ; it is not worth while at this stage 
to attempt to learn it in detail. The sizes given are 
those adopted by the United States Bureau of Soils. 



NAMES 




DIAMETER 


Gravel 


Larger than 




■iz inch • 


Sand — coarse 


2V 


to 


•5\y inch 


Sand — medium 


io 




T^ inch 


Sand — fine 


jho 




55(T inch 


Sand — very fine 


255 




■shTS inch 


Silt 


shjj 




■515 s^ inch 


Clay 


■550(7 


1135W inch 


1 More accurately, i m 


llimeter. 






33 







34 Farm Science 

Meaning of the word " clay." The word " clay " 
is used in two ways. There is a chemical substance 
called day, or kaolin. It is the substance used in making 
fine dishes. It is a compound of aluminum and oxygen, 
and is dug from clay mines. 

In the above table, and throughout this book, the 
term clay refers only to the size of soil particles, and is 
applied to any soil that consists largely of particles 
less than g o\> o inch in diameter, without reference to the 
chemical composition of these particles. It happens, 
however, that many of these very fine particles do con- 
sist of real clay in the chemical sense. Fine-grained 
soils are called clay because they are tough and sticky 
(when wet) like real clay. 

Soil grains of the next larger size are called silt. Soils 
composed largely of silt are easy to work, and usually 
quite fertile except where there is so much rain that the 
plant food is washed out of them. iEolian soils are 
sometimes almost pure silt. 

The terms gravel and sand are well known and need 
no discussion here. 

Types of soil. The more common names of soil 
types, based on the general coarseness or fineness of 
the soil particles, are sand, fine sand, sandy loam, fine 
sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silt, clay loam, and clay. 
These are arranged in the order of coarseness, the coars- 
est first. Any one of these types may have, and usually 
does have, particles of all sizes in it. It is the proportion 
of the particles of different sizes that makes the differ- 
ence between the t^pes. 

Any of the above types may contain a good deal of 



Soil Texture 



35 



Per Cent of Gravel. Sand. Silt, and Clay in 20 Grams of Subsoil 



Very fine sand 



Clay 



0.49 



27.59 



12.10 



7.71 



2.23 



4-.40 



£^ 



ID 



L *| 



a 



L-J 



Hi 



Lj 



Fig. 15. A sandy soil separated into particles of different sizes. Note that 
the coarser particles are more abundant than the finer particles. Compare 
with Figures 16 and 17. 

gravel, giving such type names as gravelly loam, gravelly 
fine sandy loam, etc. There are also some soils that 
are given the type name sandy clay, because they con- 
sist almost wholly of particles of sand and clay, silt 
particles being almost entirely lacking in them. 

Figure 15 shows a sandy soil separated into its 
constituent parts, each vial containing all the particles 
belonging to one of the sizes given in the table. Note 
that the vials toward the left are fuller than those at 
the right. Figure 16 shows the composition of a good 
loam soil. It contains some grains of all the sizes, but 
consists mostly of those of medium size. Figure 17 
shows the composition of a very heavy clay soil. It 
contains a very large proportion of the finer particles, 
but it also has some of the larger sizes. 

Two soils of approximately the same texture may 



36 



Farm Science 



Per Cent of Gravel.Sand. Silt, and Clay in 20 Grams of Subsoil 



Fine sand 



Very f,nc sand 



S,Lt 



Cla 



'JL. 



0.00 



0.25 



1.71 



6.08 



30.82 



20.92 



11.21 



33.78 



:iii 






111 



|:1 
Ilia 



■M 



1 



m 



Fig. 1 6. A loam soil separated Into particles of different sizes. The medium- 
sized particles are most abundant, though a considerable percentage of "clay" 
is present. 

have different proportions of sand, silt, and clay in them. 
Thus, one soil might consist mainly of silt and medium 
sand, while another much like it in texture might con- 
sist of silt, very line sand, and some coarse sand. 

There are few places where the soil consists of particles 
all of about the same size, ^olian soils are an excep- 
tion. They consist very largely of silt, and have rela- 
tively few particles larger or smaller than this. There 
is also a large area of prairie soil in the drainage basin 
of the Columbia River east of the Cascade Mountains, 
the soil of which was made by the action of air and 
water on great beds of lava of very uniform composition. 
The wind has also played an important part in shifting 
the materials composing this soil. The soil grains here 
are fairly uniform in size compared with most soils, 
being mostly silt. The usual case is of a soil composed 



Soil Texture 



37 



Per Cent of Gravel. Sand, Silt, and Clay in 20 Grams of Subsoil 



Gravel 



Fine sand 



Silt 



Fine silt 



Cla/ 



0.00 



0.08 



0.19 



0.55 



10 94 



19.02 



4.67 



51.75 



'i 



'fM 



Fig. 17. A clay soil separated into its constituent particles, by sizes. The 
finest particles are most abundant. All these soils (Figs. 15, 16, and 17) have 
some particles of all the sizes. 

of particles of practically all sizes, with some sizes much 
more abundant than others. 

Loams are intermediate between sandy and clay 
soils. They usually contain a fair proportion of particles 
of all sizes, with those of intermediate sizes predominat- 
ing. 

Soils in which the content of vegetable matter deter- 
mines the type. Low, wet soils often contain such large 
quantities of vegetable matter as to determine their 
character. If the land is actually water-soaked, it is 
called swamp land, no matter what its composition. 
In some places, especially in New England, and gen- 
erally in northern Europe, such land is called " meadow," 
the wild grasses on it frequently being cut for hay. If 
drained, or partially drained, and if the vegetable matter 
is pretty well rotted, the type is muck. If the vege- 



38 



Farm Science 




lloniculturdl I nu^ligiilions, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. i8. A field of onions being harvested on muck soil in Ohio. A typical 
muck soil crop. 



table matter is still more or less fibrous (only partially 
rotted), we have peat. 

Muck lands, when well drained, can be made to pro- 
duce good crops. They are especially adapted to the 
production of onions, cabbage, celery, and peppermint. 
Figure i8 shows a field of onions on muck land in Ohio. 
Considerable areas of such land in New York, Ohio, 
Michigan, Indiana, and some other states are devoted 
to growing vegetables for market. Figure 19 shows a 
truck-farming scene on muck land in the state of New 
York. The area of land of this character in these 
states is so large that it cannot all be used in this man- 
ner ; there would not be sufficient market for all the 
products. Fortunately, good crops of corn and hay can 
be grown on muck. Oats often grow too rank on such 
soil unless it is unusually well drained. 

Muck soils respond to manure in a remarkable manner. 
Fertilizers containing potash are especially good for them. 

When muck soils become dry, they become very light 



Soil Texture 



39 



in weight, because of the large amount of vegetable 
matter they contain. Under such conditions much 
of the soil is blown away unless measures are taken to 
prevent it. Rows of trees are sometimes planted on 
such soils as a means of breaking the force of the wind 
and thus reducing the loss of surface soil from wind 
action. The land shown in Figure 20 is thus protected. 

Meaning of " heavy " and " light " as applied to soils. 
Coarse-grained soils are more or less loose in texture, 
and are easy to work. Hence they are called light 
soils. Fine-grained soils are usually tough when dry, 
and sticky when wet. This makes them hard to plow. 
Hence they are called heavy soils. The words " light " 
and " heavy " used in this connection have no reference 
to the weight of the soil material. 

Effect of plowing heavy soils too dry. If heavy soils 
are plowed too dry, they break up cloddy, as is seen in 
Figure 21. This does no particular harm, provided 




UJlHi iij I'lirm M ii III! i;i- mi- III U- .1- Uraki) 
Fig. 19. Truck farming on muck land iii New York. 



40 



Farm Science 




.^^ 

^./;%^ 









j&aiS- ^ 




Fig. 



(>/;/( r ,'j Farm Maiuij:.i-imnt \J . .1. Drake) 
Rows of trees used as windbreaks on muck soil. They tend to keep 
the light-weight soil from blowing away. 



there is time before the crop must be planted for plenty 
of rain to come and crumble the clods. Unless rain 
does come, it is practically impossible to make a good 
seed bed of a cloddy soil. 

If a good growth of some green crop is turned under 
in the plowing, the soil is full of living roots which rot 
rapidly and thus leave channels through which the water 
from the first good rain can enter the clods and cause 
them to fall apart. 

In plowing stubble land for fall-sown ^Yheat, the 
plowing should never be delayed merely because the 
soil is dry and breaks up cloddy. It is important that 
this plowing should be done as early as possible after 
harvest. The reason for this will be given later. For- 
tunately, the long season between plowing for fall-sown 
wheat and seeding time gives a chance for rain to break 
down the clods. 



Soil Texture 



41 



Effect of plowing a heavy soil too wet. Plowing a 
heavy soil too dry does no permanent injury ; but 
plowing such soils too wet is quite a different matter. 
In a dry soil the gummy substances which are found in 
small quantity on the surface of the soil grains become 
hardened, so that wherever two soil grains touch each 
other they stick together more or less firmly. This is 
why a heavy soil is hard to plow when dry, and still 
harder to pulverize into fine dust. But when the soil 
is full of moisture, the gummy substances in it become 
softened, so that the soil grains move easily on each 
other. If stirred about much when wet, as would be 
the case in plowing, for instance, the soil particles slip 
in between each other and become closely packed to- 
gether. In this condition the soil is said to be 




(.>lli(C of harm MaiMScmcnl {II. A. Miller) 

Fig. 21. A heavy soil plowed when very dry. A crop of green rye has been 
turned under here, and these clods will melt away at the first good rain. 



42 



Farm Science 




Fig. 22. Sandy loam potato soil in central Jscw Jersey. Ihe last two 
show how a soil looks when plowed wet. This does little or no harm if 
is sandy, but would be ruinous to a heavy clay soil. Note the fine pulve 
of the furrow slices turned up before the shower. 



Billings) 
furrows 
the soil 
rization 



" puddled." If the soil dries in this condition, then air 
and water cannot circulate freely through it, and it 
becomes a very poor home for plant roots. For this 
reason a heavy soil should never be plowed when wet, 
for to do so might render it practically useless for the 
entire season, or even longer. Sandy soils are not in- 
jured in this manner. 

Figure 22 shows how a soil looks when plowed too 
wet. This farmer had started in to plow his field, when 
a shower of rain came up and stopped the work. He was 
just plowing the second round after the shower when 
this picture was taken. Note the sleek surface on the 
freshly upturned furrow slice. It happens that the 
soil in this picture is a sandy loam in the famous potato 
region of central New Jersey, and no harm is being done 



Soil Texture 43 

to the soil. But if this farmer had been plowing a clay 
or clay-loam soil, he could not have gone to work again 
so soon after the shower without injuring the soil. The 
fact that he is plowing under a nice growth of young 
clover also tends to prevent injury. The soil is full of 
clover roots, and when these rot, which they will do in 
a few days, they will leave channels in the soil through 
which water can readily enter and break down the 
clods. Note how finely the furrows are pulverized 
that were plowed before the shower. Clay soils seldom, 
if ever, pulverize as finely as this. 

The effect of puddling in a clay soil may be seen for 
many years when an old roadway in such soil is plowed 
up and put into cultivation. Its location can easily 
be seen in the growing crop, which for the first few years 
does not grow half as tall as that on each side of the 
former roadway. 

Ideal condition for plowing. In the case of sandy 
soils, it makes little difference as to their moisture con- 
tent when they are plowed. They can be worked wet 
or dry, with little or no injury. But in the case of heavy 
soils, — and the heavier they are the more important 
this is, — they should never be plowed when wet. A 
heavy soil is in proper condition for the plow when it 
contains just enough moisture to crumble easily. This 
can be judged by taking a lump of soil in the hand and 
crushing it. If it is not easily broken up and pulver- 
ized, it is too dry ; if it crumbles easily, it is just 
right ; but if the soil sticks together in a moist lump 
after being squeezed together in the hand, it is too 
wet. 



44 



Farm Science 




Oliver Chilled Plow Works 
Fig. 23. A moldboard plow, the common type of plow 
in the United States. 



Relation of texture and moisture to other tillage 
operations. What has been said above about plowing 
apphes also in some degree to other tillage operations, 
such as harrowing and cultivating. If the soil is sandy, 
tillage operations may begin almost immediately after 
rain ceases. But if the soil is a clay or clay loam, or 
other type of heavy soil, it is necessary to wait till it has 
dried out considerably before starting the harrow or 
cultivator. There is no objection to harrowing or culti- 
vating a heavy soil when it is dry, for such operations 
do not tend to form clods ; they tend rather to break 
up the clods. 

Continued wet weather has a tendency to overcome 
the effect of puddling in the soil, but since one cannot 
depend on the weather, it is never safe to puddle a heavy 
soil. 

Relation of soil texture to type of plow. There are 
certain soils that are so heavy and sticky that an ordi- 
nary moldboard plow, like that shown in Figure 23, 
cannot be used on them. The dirt sticks to the sur- 
face of the moldboard instead of slipping over it as should 



Soil Texture 45 

be the case; that is, the plow does not ''scour." In 
these soils farmers generally use disk plows, like that 
shown in Figure 24. Disk plows pull more heavily 
than moldboard plows, and are hence not generally 
used where the moldboard plow is satisfactory. 

The moldboard of a plow may be made of cast steel, 
or it may be forged ; that is, worked into shape by 
simply heating the steel red hot. For some reason not 
understood, dirt slips over the surface of a forged mold- 
board more readily than it does over that of a cast 
moldboard. For this reason plows with cast mold- 
boards (the so-called " chilled " plows) cannot be used 
on certain rather heavy types of soil, such as silt, silt 
loam, etc. Chilled plows are much used on soils that 
contain more or less gravel, for almost any plow will 
scour in such a soil. 

Relation of texture to character of soil mulch. When 
the surface of the soil has been well pulverized and made 
loose, the soil is said to be covered with a soil mulch, 




John Dtere Plow Co. 
Fig. 24. A disk plow; used where the soil is so sticky that it will not "scour" 
on a moldboard plow. 



46 



Farm Science 




Ujjicc oj harm Mdna^cincnt 
Fig. 25. A fallow field of silt loam soil in western Kansas. Note that the 
surface soil consists of small clods, an ideal mulch in a windy country. 

or dirt mulch. When a clay soil is pulverized, it con- 
sists of many small clods with very little fine dust be- 
tween them. (See Figure 25.) This is an ideal dirt 
mulch for a windy country. In the dry-farming country 
farmers like to get this kind of mulch, for the clods will 
not blow away as dust will. As we pass from clay soil 
to clay loam, the amount of dust in the dirt mulch in- 
creases. It is still more in a silt loam, while in a good 
loam a well-made dirt mulch consists mostly of dust 
with a moderate proportion of small clods in it. It is 
only when we come to sandy loams and soils still more 
sandy that we can make a mulch entirely of fine dust. 
A few turns with the harrow would make a fine dust 
mulch on a soil like that shown at the extreme right m 
Figure 22. 

Relation of texture to fertility of the soil. Generally 
speaking, the heavier a soil is, the more fertile it is, 



Soil Texture 47 

provided it is not so heavy and fine-grained that air and 
water cannot readily circulate through it. The reasons 
for this will be given later. Most soils are fertile enough 
when first put into cultivation, but sandy soils wear out 
quickly unless special pains are taken to keep up their 
fertility. 

Things to Observe 

Soil differences. One way to test the texture of soil is 
to take a small sample of the dry material between the fingers 
and rub them together. In this way it is easy to distinguish 
between a sandy soil and a clay soil, for the clay soil con- 
tains a large proportion of very fine particles, while the sandy 
soil consists mainly of larger particles. 

Examine all the different soils of the community and see 
if you can at least roughly classify them as to texture. Note 
the appearance of different soils when freshly plowed. 
Clay soils, or other heavy soils, do not crumble into as small 
particles as do sandy soils. 

Note the differences in the colors of the various soil types 
of the community. Common soil colors are gray, light 
brown, dark brown, black, yellowish gray, and red. Red 
color in a soil is due to certain compounds of iron. All soils 
contain iron, but not always in red-colored compounds. 
Black color in soils is due to the presence of certain substances 
derived from decaying vegetable matter. Muck soils are 
usually black. Note especially the difference in color be- 
tween the best and the poorest soils. Rich soils are usually, 
though not always, darker in color than poor soils. 

Fertility of different soils. If there are two or more dis- 
tinct t^-pes of soil in the community, get all the informa- 
tion you can about the crops to which each type is best 
adapted. Determine the average yield of each crop on 
each of the soil types on which it is commonly grown in 
your locality. 



48 Farm Science 

Experiment 

Fill a glass fruit jar about one fourth full of ordinary soil. 
Add sufficient water to fill the jar. Then place the rubber 
ring in place and fasten on the lid. After shaking the jar 
vigorously for a minute or two, set it on a table and let the 
soil settle to the bottom. This will bring about a rough 
separation of the various-sized soil particles, the largest at 
the bottom, with the finest on top. The separation into 
sizes will not be at all complete, but the experiment will be 
instructive. It might be repeated with several different 
soil types if they are available. 



CHAPTER FOUR 

MOISTURE IN THE SOIL 

Origin and meaning of the word "capillary." In 

the Latin language, from which we get so many of our 
words, the word capilla means " hair." Hence, when 
the space between two objects is so small that it may 
be compared with the thickness of a hair, it is called 
a capillary space. In these small spaces all kinds of 
liquids show properties that are not easily observable 
elsewhere, and their behavior in these tiny spaces is 
called capillary action. But careful observation will 
show that the properties of liquids which cause these 
capillary actions may be observed to some extent when 
a liquid is placed in a vessel of ordinary size. 

Examples of capillary action. Partially fill a clean 
drinking glass with water. Note how the water rises 
at the edges where it touches the glass. If the inner 
surface of the glass is greasy, the water will turn down 
at the edges. Coal oil in a lamp wick rises by capillary 
action. Place a lump of sugar in a dish with a shallow 
layet of water in it. Note how the water rises into the 
lump. A small clod of earth may be used in this last 
experiment. These are all examples of capillary action. 

Cause of capillary action. Did it ever occur to you 
to ask why it is that drops of water tend to be round ? 
Water, like all other substances, is composed of mole- 
cules, and these in turn of atoms. It has already been 
stated (page 2) that atoms have very strong attrac- 
tion for each other. Molecules also attract each other, 
but with less force than atoms. Imagine, then, a large 
number of water molecules as close together as they can 

49 



50 Farm Science 

get ; each is attracted by all the others. The result 
of all these attractions tends to bring each par- 
ticle to the center of the group. Obviously they can- 
not all reach this point, but each gets as near it as 
possible. By arranging themselves in the form of a 
sphere, the average distance of each particle from the 
center they are all seeking is less than in any other 
arrangement. Hence a drop of any liquid tends to be 
spherical in form. 

There is also considerable attraction between the 
particles of water and those of glass. Hence water 
sticks to glass when brought in contact with it. This 
is only another way of saying that glass becomes wet 
when water touches it. Beeswax does not thus become 
wet even when held under water, for the attraction be- 
tween the particles of beeswax and those of water is 
less than that between the particles of water themselves. 
If a drop of water is placed on a perfectly clean surface 
of glass, the water will spread out over the glass until 
it becomes a very thin layer, but it will not thus spread 
out on beeswax, nor on paraffin or tallow. Water, will 
even run uphill to spread out over a clean glass surface, 
because the attraction between glass and water is so 
great. 

In the experiment with water in a drinking glass, 
the water at the edges where it touches the glass spreads 
upward over the surface of the glass. But water par- 
ticles attract each other. Hence particles (molecules) 
of water not directly in contact with the glass, but lying 
next to those that are, are drawn upward also. These 
pull up others a little farther away, and so on, so that 



Moisture in the Soil 



51 




the water turns up noticeably near the edge of the 
glass. 



The attraction between 
the particles of water is 
not strong enough to lift 
all the water in a large 
vessel, but if the glass 
were of capillary size, and 
open at each end, and if 

J, T , , 1 , 1 Fig. 26. Two clean glass plates pressed 

the bottom end were placed ^^^^^^^^^ ^-^.^ their lower edges in 

in water, then the water water. The water is drawn up be- 
ij 1 .i I'iii tween the plates by capillary action. 

would crawl up the little t,, , ,, , , , A, , 

^ The cleaner the plates and the closer 

glass tube several inches, they are pressed together, the higher 

By heating a glass tube ^he water will rise. A, glass plates; 

, , . . B, capillary layer of water. 

till it is soft, it can be 

drawn out into a little tube much smaller than a 
hair, and in such a tube water will rise by capillary 
action several feet. 

A very good way to demonstrate the capillary action 
of water is to press together two clean, flat pieces of 
glass, holding the lower edges of the pieces in water 
(Fig. 26). The capillary force, which is merely the 
attraction between the glass arid the water (involving 
also the attraction of the water particles for each other) , 
will draw the water up between the plates of glass, 
several inches if the glass is clean. The closer the glass 
plates are pressed together, the higher the water will 
rise between them. This experiment is very instruc- 
tive, and should not be omitted. It will help you to 
understand some of the things that follow. 

The coal oil in a lamp wick is drawn up in the small 



52 Farm Science 

spaces between the threads of the wick, and even be- 
tween the fibers of each thread, just as the water is 
drawn up between the gl^ss plates in the above 
experiment. 

Another instructive experiment showing capillary- 
action is performed as follows : place a small dish, such 
as a mush bowl, in a larger dish, and fill the smaller 
dish about half full of water. Now place a piece of 
clean cotton or linen cloth over the edge of the 
smaller dish so that one end of the cloth is in the water 
and the other end hangs down till it touches the bottom 
of the larger dish. The entire quantity of water will 
slowly crawl up the cloth and pass over into the lower 
vessel. The movement of the water will be slow, and it 
may take a day or two for all of it to disappear from 
the upper vessel, but the experiment is well worth 
trying. Can you explain what happens in this experi- 
ment? 

Amount of capillary space in the soil. In Chapter 
One we tried to picture what a cubic inch of soil would 
look like if it were enlarged until it became a cubic mile. 
It would look like a lot of very dirty rocks, with rotten 
logs (dead plant roots) here and there among them. 
Between the rocks would be a considerable amount of 
open space, occupied partly by water and partly by 
air. The amount of this open space would depend on 
the size, shape, and arrangement of the stones. 

Let us now think of the soil as it actually is. If it 
is very dry, nearly half of the space the soil appears to 
occupy is really open space filled with air, with a thin 
layer of water adhering to the surface of each soil grain. 



Moisture in the Soil 



53 




where soil grains touch each other 
or come very close together. 



Since the grains are of many sizes, and are irregularly ar- 
ranged, the capillary spaces in the soil are very irregular. 
How water behaves in the capillary spaces of the 
soil. Nearly all kinds of rock particles attract water, 
just as glass does. How, 
then, would water behave in 
the capillary spaces of the soil? 
When water is absorbed into 
a perfectly dry soil, the first 

thing that happens is that the ^^^- ^7- Two glass spheres in con- 

tact with each other, or nearly so, 

water slowly spreads over the ^ith a drop or two of water be- 

SUrface of every soil grain, just tween them. Note how the water 

, , collects about the point where the 

as It spreads over a clean ^p^^res come closest together. 

glass surface. Where the Water thus collects at the points 

grains touch each other, or 
come close together, the water 
would collect in the narrowest parts of the spaces be- 
tween them. If two glass marbles are held in contact 
or very close together, and if a drop or two of water 
be placed between them, the water will assume the 
form shown in Figure 27. Try this experiment. The 
marbles need not be of glass, provided they are of ma- 
terial that water will stick to as it does to glass. 

When the amount of water in the soil is sufficient in 
quantity, after forming a film over the surface of all 
the soil grains the surplus collects in a similar manner 
about the points of contact between soil grains, or at 
points where the grains come close together. As the 
amount of water in the soil increases, the film surround- 
ing each soil grain becomes thicker, and the amount 
collected at points of contact between soil grains in- 



54 



Farm Science 



creases. Finally, when the soil becomes completely 
saturated with water, all the air is driven out, and all 
the open space in the soil becomes filled with water. 
It is only by pouring water on to the soil that we can 
completely fill the open space in it with water, for cap- 
illary action will not draw so much water as this into 
the soil. 

What happens when a very wet soil is drained. If 
we give the water in a water-soaked soil a chance to 
run off, it will run down through the soil, emptying the 
larger capillary spaces and drawing the air in after it. 
But it will not run out of the very small spaces such as 
are found at points of contact between soil grains. The 
attraction of the water for the rock particles is sufiicient 
to hold a considerable amount of water in these small 
spaces in opposition to the force of gravity. The amount 
that thus remains is the same as the amount the soil 
will absorb by capillary action. Even if we could apply 
some force to drive this capillary water out of the soil-, 
there would still be a thin film of water over the surface 
of every soil grain. It is only by long-continued dry- 
ing, at high temperatures, that the last bit of water 
can be taken out of a sample of soil. The driest dust 
contains some water. 

Difference in capillary action in moist and in dry soil. 
A very interesting experiment is to take two clods of 
the same kind of soil, one very dry and the other mod- 
erately moist, stand them in a shallow dish, and pour 
a little water in the dish. The water will at once rise 
by capillary action into the moist clod, but it will rise 
very slowly in the dry one. In the moist clod, every 



Moisture in the Soil 55 

soil grain is already wet, and the water in the dish is 
quickly drawn into the capillary spaces within the clod. 
But in the dry clod the soil grains must first become 
wet by the slow creeping of the water over them. 

A soil that is in proper condition for plowing, or for 
other tillage operations, has a film of moisture over 
each soil grain, with more or less additional water col- 
lected in the narrow places, while the remainder of the 
open space in it is filled with air. In a coarse, sandy 
soil, the proportion of air is greater and the proportion 
of water less than in a fine-grained soil, assuming that 
both soils are in proper condition for working. 

Difference in capillary action in compact and loose 
soil. Take an ordinary plate, or some similar vessel, 
and place in it a clod (not too dry) and also a pile of 
loose dust of the same kind of soil as the clod. Pour a 
little water into the plate. Note the difference in the 
behavior of the water in the two cases. The capillary 
spaces in the clod are small, and when the soil grains 
have once become wet, the water rises readily into the 
clod (unless it is too fine grained). But in the loose 
dust the spaces are mostly larger, and the water does 
not completely fill them. Weight for weight the clod 
will take up more water than the loose material. Even 
the clod will still have some air in it after it has absorbed 
all the water it will. 

Behavior of water in different kinds of soil. In a 
very loose, sandy soil the particles and the spaces be- 
tween them are relatively large, and such soils will not 
hold much water by capillary force. But in a heavy 
clay soil the capillary spaces are both very small and 



56 Farm Science 

very numerous. Water is slow in getting into such a 
soil, but when it does get in, it is difficult to get out. 
The heaviest clays hold their moisture so firmly that 
plants trying to grow on them may actually die of 
thirst, surrounded by an abundance of water. The 
best soils are intermediate between clay and sand. 
They hold a good deal of water, but give it up readily 
to growdng plants. The very best soils are those that 
approach clay in texture, but have capillary spaces 
large enough to permit the water in them to move 
readily. Silts, silt loams, and the lighter clay loams are 
of this kind. 

Relation of decaying vegetable matter to soil moisture. 
You have all seen how a sponge takes up water, and 
how easy it is to squeeze most of the water out of it 
again. Decaying vegetable matter in the soil acts 
in the same way. When rain moistens the soil, these 
half-rotted fragments become filled with water, but 
give it up readily to near-by plant roots, which must 
take up large quantities of water to keep the plants 
above in good growing condition. The decaying vege- 
table and animal matter, or humus, of the soil, although 
constituting only a small part of the whole, is by far 
the most important part of the soil from the standpoint 
of the farmer. A farmer who does not keep his soil 
well stocked with humus should not expect to grow good 
crops. 

Hard and soft water. The soil contains small amounts 
of many substances that dissolve in water just as salt 
and sugar do, though usually not so readily. These 
substances come from the disintegrating rock particles 



Moisture in the Soil 57 

of the soil. Water which carries in solution a consider- 
able quantity of these substances is said to be " hard." 
When it is very free from mineral matter, water is said 
to be " soft." Rain water is soft, but water in the soil 
is nearly always more or less hard. Where limestone 
rocks come in contact with the soil water, which always 
contains more or less carbonic acid gas in solution, the 
water dissolves some of the limestone and becomes 
quite hard. 

You have doubtless noticed that kettles in which 
water is frequently boiled have a tendency to become 
coated on the inside with a kind of " scale." This 
scale is merely the mineral matter that was held in solu- 
tion by the water. The inside of steam boilers becomes 
so thickly coated in this manner that it is necessary to 
clean them out once in a while. " Manholes " are 
made in boilers to make it possible to get at the scale. 
If nothing but clean rainwater is used in a boiler, no 
scale forms in it. 

Alkali. In dry countries, where there is seldom enough 
rain to wet the soil more than two or three feet deep, 
a great deal of soluble mineral matter collects in the soil 
from the continued disintegration of the soil particles, 
there being too little rain to wash this mineral matter 
down to the water table, which may be at a great depth 
in the soil. When rain does fall on such soil, or when 
irrigation water is applied to it, the water sinks into the 
soil a few inches or a few feet, dissolving all the soluble 
matter it finds. At once this water begins to evaporate 
at the surface of the soil, and this evaporation continues 
until practically all the water has been brought back 



58 Farm Science 

to the surface by capillary action and there passed off 
into the air as vapor. As it evaporates, the soluble 
minerals it contains are left at the surface and constitute 
the much-dreaded alkali which irrigation farmers know 
so well. In the chapter on irrigation we shall learn 
how to control alkali. 

AIR IN THE SOIL 

When a dashing rain comes after a long dry spell, if 
you will watch carefully shortly after it begins to rain, 
you will see a great many air bubbles coming out of the 
soil. These bubbles are made of the air that was in the 
capillary spaces of the dry soil. The air is driven out 
of the soil in proportion to the amount of water that 
enters. The air in the capillary spaces of the soil is 
never absolutely still. In clear, dry weather the air 
above ground actually blows into the soil, just as it 
blows into .the mouth of a cave. But just before a 
big storm the air blows out of the soil as it does out of 
the mouth of a cave. Thus the soil may be said to 
breathe, though it takes very long breaths, sometimes 
a single breath continuing for a week or more. What 
this breathing means to the farmer will appear later 
when we have learned how plants live. 

Experiments 

Several experiments have already been described in the 
te.xt. These should all be performed either by the class or 
by the teacher in the presence of the class. 

I. Amount of capillary space in the soil. Fill a glass or 
cup with dry sand. Now find how much water can be 



Moisture in the Soil 59 

poured into the sand. This gives an idea of the amount of 
space for air and water in the soil. The experiment may be 
repeated with a sample of good soil, as dry as can be ob- 
tained. Note the bubbles of air that rise from the soil in 
the cup as the water soaks in. 

2. Scale in boilers and cooking vessels due to " hardness " 
of water. In a clean cooking vessel boil a quart or more of 
clear rain water until the water is all gone. Does it leave 
any scale on the inside of the vessel ? In the same vessel boil 
in the same manner a like amount of clear water from a 
well or spring. The "harder" this water is, the better the 
experiment will succeed. Does it leave any scale? The 
hardness of water may be roughly estimated in this manner. 

3. Why alkali collects at the soil surface. Soak a soft 
pine board overnight in strong brine (made by dissolving 
salt in water), and then put the board in a dry place for 
a day or two. Why does the salt appear on the surface of 
the dry board? Where was this salt when the board was 
first taken out of the brine? 

4. Soil air. Pour a bucket of water on a level, dry soil 
surface. Explain the bubbles that appear. Watch for the 
same thing when a dashing rain falls on dry soil, immedi- 
ately after the rain begins. 



CHAPTER FIVE 

TILLAGE 




Office of Farm Management 
Fig. 28. Good work with the plow. A scene in the Western Plains region. 

The objects and methods of tillage are here set forth, 
not in the order of their importance, but in the order 
in which the tillage operations usually occur in grow- 
ing crops. 

First object of tillage. The first object to be accom- 
plished by tillage is to loosen up the soil so that air 
and water can move freely through it. Plant roots 
must absorb from the soil from 300 to 800 pounds of 
water for every pound of growth the plant makes (not 
counting the water in the plant). Thus, to make a 
single cornstalk which, with its ear, weighs 4 pounds 
when perfectly dry, the roots of the stalk must take 
up about a ton of water from the soil. We shall learn 
later what becomes of this enormous quantity of water. 
We are here concerned with where it comes from. It 
is easily seen that the soil must be in good condition for 

60 



Tillage 6i 

the capillary movement of water through it in order 
to deliver this amount of water to the growing crop. 

Plant roots need air just as badly as they do water, 
though they do not require such large quantities of it. 
Air also does other important things in the soil. With- 
out it the vegetable and animal matter in the soil can- 
not rot rapidly and thus set free the stores of plant- 
food material it contains. 

The usual method of loosening up the soil is by plow- 
ing. Types of plows in common use have already been 
mentioned (Chapter Three). Plowing also kills weeds, 
and turns under humus-making material if any is present. 
Figure 28 shows good work with the plow. 

Depth of plowing. No set rules can be laid down to 
govern depth of plowing. If the soil is well supplied 
with decaying vegetable matter, and has no weeds on 
it or weed seed in it, excellent crops can be grown with- 
out plowing at all. Sandy soils, being more open than 
heavier soils, are less in need of plowing, unless infested 
with weeds, or unless they are in need of more vegetable 
matter. But a loam soil, or any type heavier than a 
loam, especially if it has little vegetable matter in it, 
is greatly benefited by the loosening up and resettling 
that comes from a good plowing, followed by the usual 
operations of disking, harrowing, etc., used in prepar- 
ing a seed bed. On weed-infested land plowing is a 
necessary part of seed-bed preparation. 

The more a soil is in need of plowing, except where 
the plowing is done merely to kill weeds, the deeper the 
plowing should be. But it is not wise to plow a poor, 
hard soil deep when for many years it has been plowed 



62 Farm Science 

shallow. Deep plowing in such a soil would throw up 
a lot of subsoil that has little or no humus in it, and 
little, tender plants cannot grow well in such a soil. 
It is far better in such cases to plow about an inch deeper 
each time, until within a few years a depth of about 8 
or lo inches is reached. This allows time for the freshly 
thrown-up subsoil to get some humus in it, and to be- 
come mellow through the action of air and moisture. 

Good farmers, who keep their land well supplied with 
humus, plow at depths ranging from 5 to 10 inches, 
plowing a little deeper when the work is done in the fall 
than when it is done in the spring. It is always a good 
plan to follow the practice of those farmers in the com- 
munity who have the best crops, unless it is known that 
there is a better way. 

Subsoiling. Subsoiling is the practice of loosening 
up the soil below the usual depth of plowing, but with- 
out turning the subsoil up to the surface. Special 
subsoil plows are sometimes used for this purpose. 
They are very heavy to pull, and this makes their use 
expensive. The only part of the country where sub- 
soiling has become at all common is in those localities 
of the South Atlantic coast where the system of farm- 
ing is such that the vegetable matter has almost com- 
pletely rotted out of the soil and nothing is done to 
restore it. The usual practice in these localities is to 
run a small plow in the bottom of the furrow made by 
an ordinary turning plow. This loosens the subsoil, 
but does not throw it out on top. Where the soil is 
properly supplied with vegetable matter, subsoiling 
is seldom practiced. From this we may conclude that 



Tillage 



63 



farmers who keep their land in good condition have 
not found subsoiling profitable. 




Gale Manufaciuring Co. 
Fig. 2g. A drag harrow, or spike-tooth harrow. 

Second object of tillage. The second object of till- 
age is threefold : (i) to pack down the lower portion 
of the plowed layer so that there will be no large air- 
holes in it. Plant roots cannot grow into these large 
open spaces, for there is no moisture or plant food there 
for them. (2) To break the surface soil into fine par- 
ticles. (3) To level the surface of the land. 

Various implements are used in accomplishing these 
three purposes. Perhaps the commonest of these is 
the drag harrow (Fig. 29). jVIany farmers use noth- 
ing but this implement in preparing a seed bed after 




G'j/e Manufacturing Co. 
Fig. 30. A spring-tooth harrow ; much used on stony ground. 



64 



Farm Science 




Fig. 31. A disk, harrow. 

the land has been plowed. There are numerous forms 
of the drag harrow used in different parts of the coun- 
try, but they all act on the same principle as the one 
shown in the figure. 

On land that is stony, or which has recently been 
cleared of timber and still contains tree roots that 
interfere with tillage, the spring-tooth harrow is fre- 
quently used. This implement is shown in Figure 30. 

In preparing fall-plowed land for a spring crop, the 
disk harrow is much used (Fig. 31). This implement 




B. F. Avery 6* Sons 
Fig. 32. A roller. It firms the soil, crushes clods, and 
makes the surface of the soil smooth. 




Tillage 65 

is also excellent for pulverizing a tough sod after it has 
been plowed. It is used, too, where it is desirable to 
pulverize the surface soil to a considerable depth, for it 
can be made to work deeper 
than the drag or spring- 
tooth. Some farmers use 
the disk harrow instead 
of the plow, going over 

the land several times ^^^- ^^ Aplank drag, or clod masher; 

a home-made implement. 

with it. 

The roller (Fig. 32) is used by many farmers, though 
there are numerous farms on which this implement 
is not found. It packs the soil down so as to close all 
large open spaces in it, and leaves the surface quite 
smooth. It also crushes a good many clods, and thus 
aids considerably in making a good seed bed. 

The plank drag, or clod masher, usually a home- 
made implement (Fig. t,t,), is an excellent thing for break- 
ing up clods. In regions of heavy clay soil this imple- 
ment is frequently found on farms. 

Numerous other implements are used here and there 
over the country for the purposes above mentioned. It 
would take too much space in a book of this size to dis- 
cuss all of them. Those mentioned are by far the most 
common implements for fitting plowed land for seeding. 

Tillage before plowing. The objects mentioned under 
the previous heading may be partly accomplished before 
the land is plowed, and in some instances this is excellent 
practice. Thus, on the wheat land of eastern Wash- 
ington, eastern Oregon, and northern Idaho, the best 
farmers often disk wheat stubble in the fall, and again 



t6 Farm Science 

in the spring before they begin plowing for summer- 
fallow. This loosens the surface soil so that when the 
land is plowed no large air spaces are left in it. More 
important, however, is the fact that this mulch of loose 
earth prevents the land from drying out before the 
plowing can be finished. In this region there is little 
or no rain in summer, and late spring plowing leaves 
the land very cloddy unless this preliminary disking is 
done. Where this "practice is followed, the land raises 
a crop only every other year. 

Figure 34 shows how disking before plowing affects 
the soil. The first section of the figure (at the top) 
shows the result of plowing grass land with no prelimi- 
nary preparation. In the second section the land has 
been disked before plowing. The third section shows 
the efTect of disking after plowing. The last shows 
the effect of disking both before and after plowing, 
giving a seed bed with no large air spaces in it, and with 
all the soil well pulverized. 

What is a good seed bed. A good seed bed means 
a soil that has been loosened up to let the air in, thor- 
oughly pulverized, packed down again sufficiently to 
remove all large air spaces, and made fine and soft at 
the surface. It is level, and free from trash that would 
be troublesome in later tillage operations. It also con- 
tains plenty of plant food, a matter about which we 
shall learn more later. 

Third object of tillage. The third, and perhaps most 
important, object of tillage is the destruction of weeds. 
If a soil is in good condition, and has no weeds or weed 
seed in it, very good crops can be grown without tillage 



Tillage 



67 



if 




iltiil^^ 



^g^,.^^^_^^.^ .^^ 



Jmr- 



~r^, _—/'"'" 



^^^ ^Mmmm :. 



I I 



Mi 



liillii^ 






tb:'^;'^^''. -■■;■; :';■ "'''^' 



iiliii^^ 



'iMi'i'll l'|ii¥i I'i'i' 



Modified from " Soil Culture " by W. E. Taylor 
Fig. 34. One way of preparing a good seed bed. Top section : land plowed 
with no preliminary preparation. Second section : land disked before plowing. 
Note absence of large air spaces. Third section: land disked after plowing, 
but not before. Fourth section : land disked both before and after plowing. 
A good seed bed dear to the bottom. 

of any kind. But every weed that gets to be an inch 
high in a growing crop reduces the yield of that crop. 
It is a proverb in regions where rainfall is none too 
plentiful that you can't grow two crops at once, mean- 
ing that you cannot secure a good yield of any crop that 
is badly infested with weeds. The lazy farmer who 
waits till all the weeds in his cornfield are sprouted, 



68 Farm Science 

so that he can kill them all at once, has to buy feed for 
his horses. 




Fig. 35. A sweep; a one-horse cultivator much used in the cotton states. 

Plowing and the subsequent tillage operations, such 
as harrowing, disking, etc., destroy many weeds. They 
also tend to cause weed seed in the top few inches of 
the soil to germinate, which gives a chance to kill them 
before the crop is planted. If the surface soil is thus 
made clean before planting time, thickly planted crops 
like wheat or oats are usually able to keep ahead of 
weeds that come up later from deeper in the soil, so 
that they do not become weedy. But if the weed seed 
in the surface soil are not destroyed, such crops may 
suffer from weeds. 

Crops like corn, cotton, and potatoes, that are planted 
in rows several feet apart, leave so much of the ground 
bare that weeds soon take possession unless something 
is done to prevent them from doing so. Hence we 
cultivate crops of this kind. The more common forms 
of cultivating implements are briefly discussed in the 
following paragraphs. 

In the cotton-growing states a great variety of culti- 
vating implements are used, most of them being designed 



Tillage 69 

for one horse. Perhaps the commonest form of culti- 
vator used in that section is the sweep (Fig. 35). This 
implement goes under several different names in dif- 
ferent localities, such as heel sweep, scrape, heel scrape, 
etc. It is sometimes called a " buzzard wing," though 
this name is usually applied to quite a different form of 
implement. The narrow shovel in front is called a 
" scooter," the fiat bars extending to the side constitut- 
ing the sweep. The object of the scooter is to hold the 
implement in the ground, while the sweep scrapes along 
just under the surface and cuts off the weeds and grass. 
Figure 36 is the old-fashioned " double shovel," 
formerly widely used in the corn belt states, but now 
generally discarded in favor of some of the implements 
to be mentioned later, and which permit the use of 
more horses per man. The double shovel is still used 
to some extent in the region where the cotton belt and 
the corn belt meet. The objections to it are that it 
utilizes the power of only one horse, which is also true 
of the sweep, and it stirs the land too deeply, thus de- 




B. F. Avery &• Sons 
Fig. 36. A double shovel; another one-horse cultivator. 



70 



Farm Science 




Parlin &• Orendorf Co. 
Fig. 37. A four-shovel one-row cultivator, 
very common in the corn-growing states; a 
two-horse implement. 



stroying many of the 
roots of the growing 
crop. (See Figure 

4i-)_ 

Figure 37 shows 
what is known as a 
one-row, four-shovel 
cultivator. This and 
the next cultivator 
(Fig. 38) are made 
in both walking and 
riding patterns. It 
is a two-horse imple- 
ment, and is probably 

the most generally used of all cultivators in the great corn- 
growing states. This 

cultivator also stirs 

the soil too deeply. 

It kills many corn 

roots. 

Figure 38 shows a 

better form of the 

one-row cultivator. 

It has three small 

shovels on each side 

of the row. These 

stir the surface soil 

but do not penetrate 

as deeply as the 

1 11 . Parlin &• Orcndorf Co. 

larger shovels seen m „ o a ■ u 1 t^- . , 

° Fig. 38. A six-shovel one-row cultivator; a 

Figure 37. Similar two-horse implement. 




Tillage 



71 



cultivators are made with four smaller shovels on each 
side. 




^^^ ^^mu 



Parlin &• Orendorf Co. 
Fig. 39. A "surface" cultivator; for two horses. 

Another form of one-row, two-horse cultivator is 
seen in Figure 39. Instead of shovels it has wide, thin 
blades that merely shave off the top inch or so of the 
soil. The farmers call this a " surface " cultivator. 
It is coming into use in the central part of the corn 
belt, mainly in Illinois and Iowa. This implement is 
not used where the land is stony. The principle on 
which it acts is similar to that of the sweep, mentioned 
above. 

Figure 40 shows an implement that cultivates both 
sides of two corn rows at a time. It requires three 
horses. It is much used on large farms in the corn belt 
states. One man, on good prairie soil, can cultivate 
80 acres of corn a year with this implement. It is some- 
what difficult to use when the corn is small, for the 
driver can watch only one row at a time. Hills of very 
young corn are liable to be covered up by dirt in the row 



72 



Farm Science 



the driver is not watching. After the corn is large 
enough not to be covered in this manner, this cultivator 
works very satisfactorily. It is especially desirable 
when farm labor is scarce, because it enables one man 
to cultivate as much corn as two would cultivate with a 
one-row implement. 

There are numerous types of special cultivators for 
potatoes, sugar beets, orchards, garden crops, etc. 
Lack of space prevents their consideration here. 

Figure 41 shows why deep cultivation is not advisable 
after the crop is well started. It shows two hills of corn 
planted the usual distance apart. The stalks are not 
half grown, yet their roots meet in the middle between 
the rows. Deep cultivation would kill many of these 
roots, and this would injure the growing crop. When 
the crop is very young, it is permissible to cultivate 
deeply in the middles, but even at that time cultivation 
near the row should be shallow, for the soil near the hills 
is full of young roots. 




Purlin b" OrendnrjJ Co. 
Fig. 40. A two-row cultivator ; for three horses. 



Tillage 



73 




Corn Iiivcslii^iilions, U . S. D. A. 

Fig. 41. Corn roots in soil between the rows. Corn 
less than half grown. Deep cultivation would destroy 
many of these roots and injure the crop. Grown in wire 
netting to keep roots in position when the soil is washed 
away. 



Experiment 

Fill three tin cans three fourths full of some heavy kind of 
soil — clay, if it is available. This experiment will not 
work with sandy soil. Add water to each of the samples 
till they are quite moist and soft. Label the cans A, B, and 
C. Cover the soil in can A with sand, filling the can to the 
top with it. With a stick, stir the soil in can B thoroughly, 
and then pack it down tight. Leave can C as it is, and 
set all three samples away till B and C are dry. This may 
take several days. At the end of this time, examine the three 
samples carefully and note the differences between them. 
Can you explain these differences? Does this experiment 
throw any light on the advice given in the text about not 
plowing heavy soils when they are wet? What effect did 
the mulch of sand have ? Why is clay soil worked like dough 
when bricks are to be made of it ? What does the working 
do? 



CHAPTER SIX 

TERRACING, DRAINAGE, IRRIGATION, AND DRY 
FARMING 




Fig. 42. A terrace so constructed that water flows over it in a thin sheet. 
This prevents washing. 



TERRACING 

Definition of terrace. Strictly speaking, a terrace is 
a level or nearly level strip of land running across the 
face of a hill. Figure 42 will give some idea of what 
this means. It shows a well-constructed terrace in a 
field at the Georgia Experiment Station. When there 
is a series of such terraces, one above another, such as 
is seen in Figure 43, a complete terrace includes both a 
level strip and the steep slope that separates it from the 
next one below. In the South Atlantic states, where ter- 
races are common, farmers apply the term '' terrace " 
indifferently to either the level strip of land or the ridge 
or steep slope between two such strips. Terraces are 
often merely ridges thrown up to break the force of water 

74 



Terracing 



75 



flowing down the face of a hill, especially where the slope 
is not very great. Terraces of this kind are shown in 
Figure 44. These ridges slope gently so as to lead the 
water to one side of the field. 

In some parts of the world very elaborate series of 
terraces have been constructed on mountain sides in 
order that crops may be grown on them. The famous 
" hanging gardens " of ancient Babylon were simply 
terraces of this nature. Long before Columbus dis- 
covered America, the Indians of Peru had built such ter- 
races. Similar ones are found today on steep mountain 
sides in certain parts of the Philippine Islands. 

Where terraces are found in this country. In the 
United States much of the farm land is terraced in the 
Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and parts of southern 
Virginia. There are three reasons for this. Much of the 
farm land is hilly, the rainfall is heavy, and thje system 
of farming is one that does not keep the soil well supplied 
with vegetable matter. All these circumstances cause 
the soil to wash, and terraces are designed to prevent 



im^ 


m^ 




^&y 


m^ 


^^^^^^^^^^ 


m 


m 


m 


^m 


^-r 


IP 




■■ -■ '^•'^i 




^li^ : 




>j> 




^Hbhmiij^'^;', 






^ "^JSJM 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 


HUii^^i^ 




^aasm^t&i 


."jsdyiifl 


B^^^^^^H 



Fig. 43. A series of terraces on a hillside in one oi the South Atlantic states. 



76 



Farm Science 




Fig. 44. Ridges designed to cause water to llow slowly to the side of the field, 
and thus prevent washing. A common, but undesirable, form of terrace in the 
South Atlantic states. 

this washing. In some locaHties in this region the 
farmers are so accustomed to terracing their land that 
they sometimes run ridges across fields that are prac- 
tically leyel. 

Disadvantages of terraces. While terraces are neces- 
sary under the conditions described above, they are a 
decided nuisance on the farm. In the first place, it 
requires a great deal of labor to keep the terraces in order, 
so that they will actually control the flow of surface run- 
off during heavy rains and thus prevent the soil from 
washing. In the second place, the ridges or slopes oc- 
cupy land, and thus reduce the crop area. Unless well 
tended, they harbor weeds, which scatter their seeds 
over the cultivated land. Lastly, it takes much more 
time to cultivate a terraced field than a field of the same 
area without terraces. 

The Mangum terrace (Fig. 45), named from the farmer 
who invented it, avoids this last difficulty. The ridges 



Drainage 



77 




Fig. 45. 



The MaiiKiini I'urin wf uiTcIC 
interfere with tillage. 



which docs not 



do not run across the slope on an exact level, but slope 
gently one way, so that the water which collects behind 
them flows slowly to one side of the field. In this way 
the flowing water is prevented from cutting into the soil. 
A pamphlet describing the IMangum terrace may be ob- 
tained from the United States Department of Agriculture. 



DRAINAGE 

Where drainage is needed. Wherever the soil is wet 
enough to interfere with tillage operations, or where 
there is so much water in the soil that plant roots cannot 
get plenty of air, some kind of drainage is necessary for 
best results with ordinary farm crops. 

Effect of drainage on alkali. We have already learned 
that alkali is merely the soluble mineral matter set free 
in the soil by the disintegration of the soil particles, and 
then collected at the surface, where the soil moisture 
evaporates. When a good system of drainage has been 



78 Farm Science 

established, the irrigation water turned on to the field 
dissolves the alkali and, if enough water is used, carries 
it away through the drains. A field ruined by alkali may 
thus in time be made to produce good crops again. But 
this method of reclaiming alkali land is expensive. 

Why drained soils are usually rich. Most soils that 
need drainage are valley soils, having in them a great 
deal of vegetable matter that has been washed down 
from surrounding uplands. This tends to make them 
rich. Again, there is usually an abundance of moisture 
just below the level of the drains, and this moisture can 
rise by capillary action up to the plant roots above the 
drains. This insures the crop plenty of water. Drain- 
age is an expensive operation, but the soils that need it 
are usually so rich that it pays well to drain them. 

Kinds of drains. While many kinds of drains are 
used, only two of them are common. These are open 
ditches and tile drains. Open ditches are much used in 
localities where the rainfall is so heavy that ordinary 
sizes of tile will not carry away the surplus water during 
hard rainstorms. They are often used as makeshifts 
elsewhere, but wherever tile drains will operate properly 
they are decidedly the best form of drainage. Good tile 
drains, when properly laid, are permanent. Although 
they are expensive at the start, it costs very little to 
keep them in proper repair, while open ditches require 
continual care and take much time for their maintenance. 

How tile are made. Tile are made from the same 
material and in the same manner as brick. They are 
made in the form of tubes, usually about a foot long, and 
4 or more inches in diameter (inside). Some are as 



Drainage 



79 




Farmers' BuUetui 324, U . S. D. A. 
Fig. 46. Digging a ditch preparatory to laying tile. 

small as 3 inches, but it is not desirable to use such small 
sizes. They get out of line too easily, and are too likely 
to become clogged by dirt. 

How tile drains are made. First, a narrow ditch is 
dug where the drain is wanted (Fig. 46). In order to 
keep the tile in line, the bottom of the ditch is shaped 
to lit the tile ; it is made round by a special implement. 
Figure 47 shows this implement, along with other tools 
used in digging ditches and laying tile. When the ditch 
is ready, the tile are laid in it, end to end, as close to- 
gether as may be (Fig. 48) . The ditch is then filled with 
dirt. Being rough, like bricks, the ends of the tile do not 
fit together snugly. This gives a chance for the water 
in the surrounding soil to seep into the tile at the joint 
where two tile ends come together. 

As soon as the work of laying the tile is finished, an 
accurate map of the lines of tile should be made. Unless 
this is done, it will require a lot of time and labor to find 



8o 



Farm Science 



the lines again should one of them become clogged and 
need cleaning out. 

Proper depth of tile drains. Tile should be laid deep 
enough to give plenty of room for the development of 
plant roots above them, for there will usually be water 
below the level of the tile, and the roots of our ordinary 
farm crops cannot grow in water. In any except a sticky 
clay soil, or other very heavy soil, 3^ or 4 feet is about 
the proper depth. In heavy, fine-grained soils, water 
does not flow readily, and tile should be laid shallower. 
But in the most extreme case the drains must be laid 
deep enough not to interfere with tillage operations. It 
is hardly worth while to drain land less than 2 feet deep, 
for plant roots would not have sufficient room to develop 
with the water table closer to the surface than this. 

Distance apart of lines of tile. The width of the 
strip of land a single line of tile will drain depends on the 




Drainage Investigations. U. S. D. A 
Fig. 47. Tools used in ditch digging and tile laying. The drain scoop is used in 
shaping the bottom of the ditch to fit the tile snugly. 



Drainage 



8i 




:^^^W?'?^^jf«;^i^ 






F 



--»/ 



^vv^^'^^;^^" 



- '■ J^-?''^^^'-'-': 



termers' Bulletin $24, U S D A 
Fig. 48. Placing tile in position with the tile hook. (See Figure 47.) 

depth at which the tile is laid, and on the texture of the 
soil. The deeper the drain and the more sandy the soil, 
the farther apart may be the lines of tile. In a sandy soil 
where it is possible to put the drains 4 feet deep, a single 
Jine of tile will usually drain a strip 80 feet wide, or even 
wider. In a heavy clay soil, where it is not practicable to 
bury the tile more than 2^ feet deep, it is usually necessary 
to lay the lines of tile not more than 20 or 25 feet apart. 

Slope of lines of tile. It is necessary that the lines of 
tile run down hill in order that the water may flow in 
them. The smaller the tile, the greater the slope re- 
quired. A few inches per hundred feet of tile will usually 
be sufflcient to insure ample drainage. 

It is a matter of great importance to see that there is 
always a downward slope inside the tile. Otherwise 
dirt will collect in it at the low places, and thus render the 
tile ineffective. 



82 



Farm Science 



Why the outlet of the 
drainage system must be 
protected. If the system of 
tile drains ends in an open 
ditch, the dirt is hable to fall 
in and cover it up. This will 
stop the flow of water and 
cause the water to back up 
in the tile. Figure 49 shows 
how to prevent this. The 
brick wall surrounding the 
outlet of the system keeps it 
free from obstruction at the 
mouth. 

The outlet shown in Figure 
49 is not yet finished. If the 
end of the tile were left open 
as it was when this picture 
was taken, it would become 
a harboring place for frogs, 
turtles, rabbits, etc. When 
these small animals enter a system of tiles, they are 
unable to find their way out again. Their bodies then 
obstruct the system and render it useless. To avoid 
this, the open end of the tile should be covered with wire 
netting, a drop board, or some other suitable device. 




Drainage Invesligalions, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 4g. A well-constructed drain 
outlet on a South Carolina farm. 
It needs wire netting, or other de- 
vice, over the mouth of the drain to 
keep out small animals which might 
enter and obstruct the system. 



IRRIGATION 



Irrigation regions. In the southern portion of the 
United States farm land is usually irrigated where the 
rainfall is less than about 30 inches a year. In the 



Irrigation 



83 



North, irrigation is seldom practiced where the rainfall 
is more than 15 or 20 inches. There are two reasons for 
this difference. In the first place, rainfall in the South 
is more bunched than it is in the North. More of it 
falls at a single rain, and hence more is lost by surface 
run-ofT. In the second place, more soil moisture is lost 
by evaporation in the South than in the North, because 
of the higher temperatures in the South. Certain crops 
are grown in the North with as little as 10 inches of 
rainfall. See the next section of this chapter for an 
account of this so-called " dry farming." 

It is only in the western portions of the country that 
the rainfall is so light as to make irrigation actually neces- 
sary, though here and there in all the eastern states 
may be found farmers who irrigate crops of vegetables in 
dry weather. Figure 50 shows the irrigation. of a field 
of onions in Georgia, where the average rainfall is heavy. 




hi:rslii;ali:uis. U. S. D. A. 

Fig. 50. Irrigating a truck crop in Georgia, where the rainfall is heavy. This 
insures good crops in spite of periods of dry weather. 



84 Farm Science 

Irrigation is practiced to a greater or less extent in 
the western portion of all the line of states from North 
Dakota to Texas, and in all the states to the west of 
these, though some crops are grown without irrigation 
in all these states. In much of eastern Washington, east- 
ern Oregon, and northern Idaho the land is not irrigated, 
while in western Washington and the northern portion 
of western Oregon there is abundant rainfall — even too 
much in some places near the coast. 

Advantages of irrigation. The farmer who has plenty 
of irrigation water can water his crops when they need it. 
This enables him to grow large crops. In the West one 
often hears the remark that rain is a very poor substitute 
for irrigation. Since irrigated crops yield better than 
those not irrigated, it requires less land for a good farm 
in irrigated regions than it does in regions that depend 
on rainfall. 

Disadvantages of irrigation. The streams that furnish 
irrigation water do not always run full. When they fail, 
the crops suffer just as they do in times of drought else- 
where. Sometimes too many farmers try to get water 
from the same stream, and all of them suffer in conse- 
quence. It costs a great deal to build the necessary ir- 
rigation ditches and to keep them in repair. In some 
cases the cost is so high that the farmers are compelled 
to engage in the most intensive kinds of farming, such as 
fruit growing and truck farming, in order to pay for the 
irrigation water and make interest on the investment. 
Unfortunately, most of these lands are a long distance 
from the great cities where there are extensive markets 
for such products. Crops of this kind occupy only 



Irrigation 85 

about 4 per cent of our total crop area. It is easy 
to produce so much of them that no market can be 
found. This brings disaster to small farmers who have 
nothing else to sell and who are at a long distance from 
market. 

Nearly every irrigated district has sooner or later to 
deal with the problem of alkali. When water is turned 
on to lands that have never been water-soaked before, 
it finds in the soil great quantities of soluble mineral 
matter. This it promptly dissolves, and then, evaporat- 
ing at the surface, it leaves the soluble minerals there in 
such quantity that growing crops are poisoned by them. 
We have already seen that the remedy for this is tile 
drainage, which is expensive. Farmers will usually not 
go to this expense until alkali has begun to ruin their 
crops, when they frequently do not have the money 
for it. 

The waste water which careless farmers allow to form 
pools by the roadside and elsewhere in irrigated regions 
makes breeding places for mosquitoes, and these little 
pests spread malaria if they happen to get it. 

Despite all these disadvantages and difhculties, irriga- 
tion farming has proved highly profitable in localities 
where real-estate promotion schemes or the cost of 
instalhng the ditches have not made the land too high 
priced. 

A common fault of irrigators. Where irrigation water 
is at all plentiful, many farmers use entirely too much 
of it. This hastens the coming of alkali. Where the 
water is none too plentiful, it robs other farmers of their 
rightful supply. Where the farmers themselves do not 



86 



Farm Sc'ence 




Office of Farm Management (L. A. Moorhoiisc) 
Fig. 51. Irrigating sugar beets in one of the Mountain states. The water is 
run in furrows between the rows. 



own the large ditches that bring the water to their farms, 
there is nearly always trouble between them and the ditch 
owners over this question of the proper amount of water 
to use. 

Methods of putting water on the land. Each locality 
has to some extent developed its own methods of put- 
ting water on the land. ]\Iuch depends on the soil. 
Sandy soils cannot be handled like clay soils. The crop 
growing on the field makes a difference. A method 
useful in an orchard might not do well in a field of 
alfalfa. 

The most common method of irrigating is to conduct 
the water over the field in small furrows from a foot and 
a half to several feet apart. For crops grown in rows, 
such as potatoes and sugar beets, the water is run in 
furrows between the rows (Fig. 51). In orchards it is 



Irrigation 



87 



sometimes run in furrows that follow the tree rows, mak- 
ing a half circle around each tree. More commonly it 
is run in furrows between the tree rows, as shown in 
Figure 52. 

When the water is allowed to flow over the land or to 
run in furrows, great care must be taken not to let it 
run fast enough to cut the soil away. The rate of flow 
in a furrow is governed by the slope of the land and the 
amount of water allowed to flow. The best method to 
use in any given case depends on the character of the 
soil and the nature of the crop to be grown. In this, as 
in other matters of farm practice, the beginner should 
use the methods of his most successful neighbors whose 
conditions are similar to his, unless he is sure he knows 
a better way. 




L . S. Rcilaination Service 
Fig. 52. Orchard irrigation on the Pacific Coast. 



88 Farm Science 

DRY FARMING 

What is " dry " farming? Since good farm land be- 
gan "to be scarce in this country, many farmers have 
settled in localities where the rainfall is so light that it 
is difl&cult to grow good crops and where irrigation water 
is not to be had. Under these conditions it is necessary 
to use the best possible means of preventing loss of the 
small rainfall. The methods used by these farmers for 
saving soil moisture are known as dry farming methods. 

How water is lost. When a heavy rain occurs, much 
of the water runs off into streams without ever soaking 
into the soil. Even when moisture gets into the soil, 
much of it may rise again to the surface by capillary 
action and there evaporate. The amount thus lost 
may be very large. In regions of heavy rainfall much 
of the rain that falls sinks deep into the ground and 
later appears in springs, but not much is lost in this way 
in dry countries. 

How to prevent these losses. To prevent rain water 
from running off the land into streams, the soil must 
be in condition to soak up the water as fast as it falls. 
The principal method used by dry farmers to bring this 
about is to plow deep — 8, lo, or even 12 inches. 

If the soil could be kept well filled with vegetable 
matter, rain would readily soak into it. But the dry 
farmer dare not use this method extensively, for it is 
liable to make the soil so loose that it will dry out com- 
pletely when dry weather comes. 

One very successful dry farmer has adopted the method 
of terracing his land to prevent run-off of rain water. 



Dry Farming 89 

His large farm is covered with a system of ridges thrown 
up with a plow. These ridges run on the level, and 
when a hard rain comes, the water is held back by the 
ridges until it has time to sink into the soil. The sys- 
tem of terracing used on this farm is essentially like 
that shown in Figure 44 (page 76). 

To prevent loss of moisture by evaporation, the most 
important thing is to prevent absolutely all weed growth. 
Weeds do not cause surface evaporation, but they suck 
up enormous quantities of water through their roots, 
and then evaporate it at their leaves. 

Summer-fallowing. In dry-farming regions many 
farmers summer-fallow a portion of their land every 
year. That is, they plow it up in the spring and leave 
it bare during the summer, using the utmost care to 
prevent any weed growth. If weeds start, some kind 
of cultivator is run over the land. In the fall or the 
next spring, a crop, usually wheat, is sown on this fallow 
land. This method gives the crop practically two years' 
rainfall, though it takes two years' use of the land to 
produce a crop. Summer-fallowing is by far the surest 
way of getting a crop in very dry regions, and if the 
land is not too high priced, there is no particular objec- 
tion to it. But high-priced land must produce a crop 
every year in order to pay interest on the investment. 

West of the Rocky Mountains, where nearly all the 
rain comes in the winter, the best method of summer- 
fallowing is to go over the land in the fall, and again in 
the early spring, with a disk harrow (Fig. 31, page 64) ; 
then plow it as soon as possible, and keep the weeds off 
during the summer. The two diskings produce a dirt 



90 



Farm Science 



mulch that serves to keep the land from baking when dry 
weather comes in early summer before the plowing is 
finished. 



^^'/^ 




Pralin &• Orendorf Co. 
Fig. S2>- a subsurface packer. 



Subsurface packer and its use. Two implements 
sometimes found on farms in the dry-farming country 
are shown in Figures 53 and 54. These two implements 
serve the same purpose. When either of them is run 
over freshly plowed land, it sinks into the soft dirt, press- 
ing it down so as to remove all large air spaces in the 
lower part of the plowed layer, but leaving the surface 
loose, thus making a very good seed bed. 

Uncertainty of harvests in dry countries. While the 
practice of the methods above outlined will enable the 
farmer to grow crops in many years when ordinary 
methods would fail, it must be remembered that in all 
dry countries there are seasons when the rainfall is so 
light that it is impossible to grow good crops. Wliere 
the average rainfall is 15 inches, it is less than this at 
least half the time, and sometimes much less. The wise 



Dry Farming 



91 



farmer in a dry country therefore keeps a supply of feed 
ahead for a dry year. 

Drought-resisting crops. Some crops will stand much 
more dry weather than others. The most successful 
dry farmers have learned this and devote their land 
largely to such crops. The most prominent group of 
plants of this character is the sorghums. The common 
sorghum cane which is grown in the Central states for 
sirup making is much grown for hay in the Plains region. 
When grown for hay, it is sown very thick so that it 
will not grow too rank. Soudan grass, a relative of 
sorghum, is also coming into very general use as a hay 
plant in the dry-farming country. Kafiir, milo, and 
feterita are other members of the sorghum family ex- 
tensively grown for grain in dry regions. These three 
crops resemble each other closely. Figure 55, on the 
next page, shows a field of kafir in western Oklahoma. 

Among the common grain crops, rye is the most able 
to resist drought. It is increasing in popularity in the 
dry-farming country. Wheat, although not especially 
resistant to drought, is very widely grown on dry lands, 
but much of it is grown on summer-fallowed land, and 
thus gets the benefit of more than one year's rainfall. 
The durum wheats are drought resistant, and are much 




B. F. Avery &r Sons 
Fig. 54. A corrugated roller. 



92 



Farm Science 




Cereal Invesligalions, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 55. Field of kafir in western Oklahoma ; a good dry-land crop. 

grown in the northern part of the dry-farming country. 
Cotton is also a fairly drought-resistant crop, and so 
are some varieties of corn. 

Much dry farming has been attempted in parts of the 
West where the rainfall is entirely too light, and many 
of these dry farms have been abandoned. It would be 
better for all concerned if the driest of these lands were 
used only for range purposes. 



CHAPTER SEVEN 

SOIL IMPROVEMENT 




U. S. Bureau of Soils 
Fig. 56. A washed hillside. Even hardy weeds find it difficult to 
get started here, because the soil is devoid of humus and has little 
plant food in it. 

WHY NEW SOILS ARE RICH 

Every one has noticed hillsides like that shown in 
Figure 56, from which more or less of the surface soil is 
washed away every year. No leaves or other vegetable 
matter accumulate on such a soil. Even the hardiest 
weeds grow sparingly in situations like this. But when 
land is in a level valley such as that shown in Figure 57, 
where vegetable matter accumulates not only from the 
growth on the soil but also from materials washed down 
from the surrounding highlands, if the land is not too 
wet, grasses, trees, shrubs, etc., grow in rank profusion 
year after year, and have done so for thousands of years. 
What makes the difference between the two? The 
answer to this question is very important to the farmer. 
We shall find it in the following paragraphs. 

Organic matter defined. Our bodies are composed 
of parts called organs. Thus the eyes, hands, lungs, 

93 



94 



Farm Science 




U . S. Bureau of Soils 
Fig. 57. Natural growth of trees on rich valley soil. The 
dense shade, together with occasional floods, prevent 
undergrowth here. Note the vegetable matter decaying 
on the surface of the soil. 



heart, etc., are organs of the body, each having its own 
particular office to perform. A body which is thus 
composed of organs, or parts having different offices, is 
called an organism, organized body, or organic body. 
All plants and animals are organic bodies. 

Substances that are produced by organic bodies are 
called organic substances. Thus sugar, starch,. horn, etc., 



Soil Improvement 95 

are organic substances. The materials composing the 
bodies of plants and animals are referred to as organic 
matter. This term is still applied to the fragments of 
their dead bodies as we find them in the soil and else- 
where. Heretofore we have been referring to this kind of 
material as decaying animal and vegetable matter. We 
have also called it humus, when it occurs in the soil. 
Henceforth we shall sometimes refer to it as organic 
matter in the soil. 

Why new soils are rich in humus. In a state of 
nature, all good soils, if favorably located and properly 
supplied with moisture, support an abundant growth of 
grasses, weeds, flowers, shrubs, or trees, or mixtures of 
these, and have done so for untold ages. Every year 
the leaves of these plants fall to the ground and become 
more or less mixed with the surface dirt. In time they 
rot away and disappear, but meanwhile they have con- 
stituted a part of the soil. During the time they were a 
part of the soil they helped to absorb the rain that fell, 
and readily parted with this moisture to near-by living 
plant roots that needed it. The mineral matter they 
had received from the soil while they were still growing 
above ground, their dead fragments now slowly give up 
to the water in the soil that is being taken up by the 
roots of living plants. Every generation of plants thus 
lives to some extent on the accumulations of all the 
generations that preceded it. When a plant dies, its 
roots and stem also go back to form for a time part of 
the stock of organic matter in the soil. As they 
decay, they perform the same offices as the dead leaves 
just described. 



96 Farm Science 

How mineral plant food accumulates in the soil. 

Every year there is a small quantity of mineral plant 
food set free in the soil by the continued action of disin- 
tegrating forces on the rock particles of the soil. Grow- 
ing plants seize upon this aild build it into their bodies, 
along with that obtained from the decaying remains of 
former generations of plants. Thus, under natural 
conditions, the soil from year to year increases its 
stock of available plant food, and becomes richer and 
richer. 

Why washed hillsides are poor and valleys rich. We 
are now prepared to understand why a washed hillside, 
although its soil may be naturally just as good as that 
of the valley, is really very poor, and why plants have 
such a hard time in getting a start on it. It is lacking 
in organic matter. On the other hand, the soil of the 
valley every year has washed down upon it some of the 
surface soil of the surrounding hills, and this surface 
soil contains the humus and most of the accumulated 
plant food the loss of which makes the hillside poor. 
Valleys are therefore generally rich, unless the soil in 
them is too sandy, or contains too much clay, or is too 
wet. 

What humus does. It may be well to bring together 
here what has previously been said about the uses of 
organic matter in the soil. It is important enough to 
bear repeating. 

In the first place, organic matter helps the soil to hold 
moisture for the use of growing plants. A pound of 
well-decayed organic matter in the soil will absorb and 
hold 2 pounds of water. It also gives up this moisture 



Soil Improvement 97 

freely to growing plants when they need it. We shall 
later learn how the growing plants get this water and 
what they do with it. 

It makes the soil porous, so that air and water can 
circulate freely through it. 

It renders the soil friable ; that is, easily broken or 
pulverized. This helps to prevent the formation of 
clods. A clay soil full of humus can be worked after a 
hard rain much sooner than one containing little or no 
organic matter. 

Drought has much less effect on crops growing on a soil 
well stocked with humus than on a similar soil deficient 
in humus, because such a soil holds more water. 

Plant roots can easily thread their way through a soil 
that is well supplied with organic matter. This enables 
the growing plant to extend its roots wider and deeper, 
and thus to find more water and plant food. Of two root 
systems of the same size, experiment has proved that the 
one growing in rich soil supports a larger growth above 
ground than the one in poor soil. Plants in rich soil 
thus expend less of their energy and food materials in 
developing roots than do plants in poor soil. 

The decay of organic matter in the soil sets free large 
quantities of carbonic acid gas. This gas is one of 
the important agencies in the disintegration of rock 
particles in the soil. It therefore helps to add to the 
stock of available plant food in the soil. 

Finally, this organic matter is a rich storehouse of 
plant food that has been passed on from one generation 
of plants to another ever since it was originally set free 
by the disintegration of rock particles in the soil. 



98 Farm Science 

Wood ashes. When we burn wood in our stoves 
and fireplaces, we get a certain amount of ashes. Some 
ashes are obtained when any kind of organic matter is 
burned (this does not apply to certain pure organic 
substances, such as sugar, starch, etc.). These ashes are 
the mineral matter which growing plants get from the 
soil. It is in solution in the soil water which the roots 
of growing plants absorb. Some of it is of no use to 
plants, so far as we know, but enters along with the 
water and is left in the tissues of the plants. Other parts 
of it represent substances that enter into the composi- 
tion of the growing plant. We shall learn what these 
substances are when we come to study how plants live. 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MAN BEGINS TO GROW CROPS 
ON THE SOIL 

We have seen that in a state of nature the soil slowly 
grows richer by the continued accumulation in it of 
organic matter and mineral plant food. But when the 
farmer begins to grow crops on the soil, he changes all 
this. Instead of leaving the entire crop to rot on or in 
the soil, he takes away most of that part which is above 
ground, sometimes even a part of that below. Mean- 
while the stirring he gives the soil lets in the air more 
freely, and this causes the organic matter in the soil to 
decay more rapidly. Thus, he not only decreases the 
amount of organic matter added to the soil yearly, but 
also hastens the decay of what is already there. Is it 
surprising, therefore, that after a while the soil begins 
to show signs of approaching exhaustion? A large pro- 
portion of the mineral plant food found in the soil is 



Soil Improvement 99 

contained in the organic matter. The gradual decrease 
of organic matter in the soil thus means also a decrease 
in the available plant food. After some years of such 
treatment, — the length of time depending more or less on 
the character of the soil and the methods used by the 
farmer, — the land begins to produce crops like that shown 
in Figure 58 (page 100), which represents a crop of cotton 
grown on soil devoted to cotton continuously for half 
a century with no attempt to replace what was taken 
from the soil. Is such land really worn out? Can it be 
brought back to its original state of fertility ? 

HOW TO BUILD UP OR MAINTAIN FERTILITY OF SOIL 

We have just seen how the soil loses its fertility when 
not properly treated. We have only to reverse the pro- 
cess to restore it. But we cannot leave all our crops to 
rot on the land, or turn them under, to make humus. 
We must therefore exercise a little ingenuity in reversing 
the process that led to the loss of fertility. 

By far the most important thing to do in trying to 
make worn-out land produce good crops is to fill the soil 
again with organic matter ; that is, to increase its humus 
content. We may do something by adding commercial 
fertilizers, but they will not do nearly as much good as 
they would if plenty of organic matter were present to 
make the soil mellow so that air and water can move 
freely in it and plant roots can easily grow into every 
nook and cranny. Since sandy soils are naturally more 
open than the heavier t\^es, commercial fertilizers are 
more logical for them than for clay soils when both 
are lacking in humus. 



lOO 



Farm Science 



^4 







(I"; ( .-' l-.!nn M .iii.ti'rment (M. A. Crosby) 

Fig. 58. The soil of this field has btcii cropped with cotton for more than fifty 
years, and nothing has been done to renew the original supply of humus. 



WAYS OF RESTORING HUMUS 

Crop refuse. Many crops are grown for their seeds 
only. The stems and leaves of these plants may be 
used for humus-making material. Figure 59 shows a 
field of cotton on a farm that depends entirely on this 
method. The photographs reproduced in Figures 58 
and 59 were taken on adjoining farms, on the same 
kind of soil. The yield of cotton on the farm shown in 
Figure 59 is enormous. The owner grows cotton, corn, 
and oats. He puts back into the soil every fragment of 
these plants except the parts used for other purposes, 
which in this case is mainly the seed, and of course the 
lint of the cotton. When he first began this system, it 
was necessary to go to the woods and get dried leaves 
to put on the soil, because his crops did not furnish 
enough humus-making material. But it was no longer 



Soil Ipiprovement 



lOI 



necessary to do this when his cotton got to the point 
where the yield was more than a bale to the acre. From 
the leaves he got a good supply of mineral plant food, 
which has been passed on from one crop to another for 
years. No commercial fertilizers are used on this farm. 

The straw from an old straw stack, if properly utilized, 
is worth nearly as much as the same weight of barnyard 
manure in restoring fertility to land. Where straw, 
cornstalks, etc., are needed as roughage for stock, the 
manure made from them, if properly handled, will re- 
turn to the soil the larger part of the plant food and 
humus-making material they contain. The farmer thus 
gets their feed value as well as their manurial value. 

In dry countries too much vegetable matter in the soil 
makes it so loose that it may dry out as deep as it has 




OMnc of Farm Manaf,cmcnt {M . A. Crosby) 
Fig. 59. This field is only a few yards from the one shown in Figure 58, and the 
soil is the same in type. No manure or fertilizers have been used here, but every 
fragment of the stems and leaves of all crops is turned under to make humus. 
At the beginning it was necessary to use leaves from the forest to get a supply 
of humus. A plentiful supply of humus alone makes the difference between this 
cotton and that shown in Figure 58. 



I02 



Farm Science 




Office Oj Farm Management 
Fig. 6o. The owner of this farm spreads manure on his fields as fast as it is made. 
He keeps 30 head of stock on 15 acres. His yield of hay is the largest known in 
this country. 

been plowed. The dry-land farmer must therefore 
use great caution in storing the soil with humus- 
making material. Fortunately the soil does not require 
as much humus in dry regions as it does where the rain- 
fall is heavy, for the bacteria in dry soils, if not too dry, 
are more active than in wet soils. 

Manure. Every farm has some livestock on it. The 
manure from these should be carefully saved and returned 
to the land. The best methods of handling manure will be 
discussed later. Manure should be protected from rains 
until it is taken on to the fields, after which rain will only 
wash it into the soil where it is wanted. Figure 60 
shows the methods of spreading manure used on one 
of the best small farms in the country. Here the manure 
is spread daily, and there is not enough of it at one time 
to justify the use of a spreader. When large quantities 



Soil Improvement 



103 



of manure are to be handled, it is better to use a manure 
spreader (Fig. 61). 

Sod crops. Another way to put humus into the soil 
is to grow a sod crop in the rotation. Timothy and 
clover, mixed, constitute the most common sod crop of 
the North. In the West, alfalfa takes the place of this 
mixture. It is not, strictly speaking, a sod crop, but for 
reasons that will be given later it is quite as valuable a 
means of restoring fertility to the soil as timothy and 
clover, if not more so. In the East, however, where the 
soils are often acid, it will not grow on poor soil. The 
South has no satisfactory sod crop. Johnson grass and 
bermuda make excellent sods, but their weedy character 
makes it difficult to utilize them for this purpose. Plow- 
ing under a good, heavy growth of sod adds so much 
humus to the soil that the effect can be seen for several 
years in the increased yield of crops. 

Green manures. A green crop plowed under for the 
purpose of improving the soil is called a green manure. 




i)Jliic oj luirm Miiiitii^rment (./. A. I>rjkc) 

Fig. 61. A manure spreader at work. 



I04 



Farm Science 




Office of Farm Managcmcitl {11. A. MilUr) 
Fig. 62. Crimson clover and rye grown as a green manure crop in one of the 
Atlantic coast states. It will be plowed under in time to plant corn. 

Where other means of putting humus into the soil are 
lacking, there is a long list of crops suitable for use as 
green manures. Usually these crops can be grown as 
catch crops ; that is, they can be grown in the winter 
between two summer crops, or sown in a cultivated crop 
like corn after the cultivation is finished. Thus, cow- 
peas or soy beans may be sown in cornfields to plow 
under after the corn is harvested ; or they may be pas- 
tured and their remains turned under. There are 
several crops that may be sown in the early fall and 
plowed under the next spring in time for a summer crop. 
Some of these are rye, crimson clover, bur clover, and 
hairy vetch. Rye and hairy vetch may be grown almost 
anywhere in this country. Crimson clover does, well in 



Soil Improvement 



IQ! 



It^ ,"»=• 



^ 



^>'^ 






"' ..Mr 



■'>fi-' 



■-- .<li*. /V 



-•■>>!hr 










0/^rt of Farm Manaticmoil {J. S. Caics) 
Fig. 63. Crimson clover sown as a green manure crop in a North Carolina cotton 
field. It will be turned under in the spring in time to plant cotton again. 

most parts of the Atlantic coast states, and bur clover in 
the South. Along the Atlantic coast rye and crimson 
clover are frequently sown together as green manure 
(Fig. 62). Figure 63 shows a North Carolina cotton 
field in which crimson clover was sown in late summer, 
to be plowed under in the spring in time to plant cotton 
again. 

In the West alfalfa, and in the East red clover, are 
frequently turned under for green manure, with excellent 
results. Figure 64 shows clover sown for this purpose. 
It was sown on winter rye in the spring. The rye had 
just been cut when this picture was taken, and a nice 
growth of young clover is coming on. After it had made 
a good growth the next spring, it was to be plowed under 
for the benefit of some young apple trees, which are too 
small to be seen in the picture. 



io6 Farm Science 




Office of Farm Management 
Fig. 64. Red clover following rye. The clover will be plowed under the next 
spring for the benefit of young apple trees too small to be seen in the picture. 

The value of green manure crops is very clearly shown 
in Figures 66 and 67. These fields of corn grew on ad- 
joining farms and in the same kind of soil. The only 
difference in their treatment was that the field shown in 
Figure 67 had had several crops of green manure turned 
under in it, had been plowed deeper, and tilled with 
more care. The better field does not show to full ad- 
vantage, because at the time the picture was taken the 
tops of the cornstalks had been cut off for fodder. 

Where the land is so poor that it would not pay to 
grow a crop on it, a very good plan is to sow it thickly 
to corn or sorghum, or any other crop that will make a 
rank growth, and plow this crop under when it has 
reached its full growth. This will put a great deal of 
humus into the soil, but it is an expensive method. 

Weeds as green manure. In extreme cases, where 
the land has become so poor that it does not pay to cul- 
tivate it at all, it may be left to grow up in weeds for a 
few years. Each crop of weeds will add some humus to 
the soil, so that in time the soil will be restored to a 



Soil Improvement 107 

considerable degree of fertility. Figure 65 shows a field 
undergoing this method of recuperation. In regions 
where this method is practiced, farmers call fields like 
that shown in the figure " resting " fields. This prac- 
tice is not necessary where farmers give proper attention 
to the matter of keeping the soil supplied with humus. 

The use of legumes as a means of restoring soil fer- 
tility will be discussed later. 

SOIL SOURNESS, AND REMEDIES 

The word " sweeten " used in two senses. Sourness 
is due to the presence of some kind of acid. Thus, sour 
milk contains lactic acid. Vinegar contains acetic acid. 
Sugar sweetens, not by removing the sourness of the 
acid, but by disguising its taste. But there are sub- 




; /■ . . .. I. Milter) 

Fig. 65. A "resting" field. The shiftless farmer's method of adding humus 
to the soil. 



io8 



Farm Science 










(I,,, oj Farm MaiMgemi>il II A Miller) 
Fig. 66. Corn on land verj' poor in humus; same neighborhood as Figure 67. 
Yield, 8 bushels per acre. 

stances that change acids into new substances that are 
not sour. These " sweeten " by removing the sourness. 
Ammonia, lye, and lime are familiar substances of this 
kind. (See experiment with sour milk at end of this 
section.) Such substances are said to be alkaline. 
There are thus two ways of sweetening a sour substance. 
First, the taste may be disguised by addiiig sugar ; 
second, the sourness may be destroyed by adding an alka- 
line substance. The term " sweeten " is used for this 
latter case merely for want of a better word. 

Acids and alkaline substances in the soil. As we 
already know, soil consists mostly of rock particles, but 
a small part of any good soil consists of decaying animal 
and vegetable matter. The principal substances com- 
posing the rock particles of the soil are insoluble, or only 
slightly soluble, in water. Most of these difficultly 



Soil Improvement 



109 





^ 






tM'm 



.H^*tt»»,;yy». <tg^ 



Office of Farm Management (H. A. Miller) 

Fig. 07. A field of corn on the same kind of soil as that shown in Figure 66. The 
difiference is due to the use of crimson clover as green manure, deep plowing, and 
good cultivation. Yield, 45 bushels per acre. 

soluble substances of the rock particles are slightly acid 
in their nature. But there are soluble substances em- 
bedded in the rock particles. It also happens that most 
of these soluble substances are more or less alkaline in 
nature. It is necessary to remember these facts in order 
to understand the next few pages. 

When vegetable matter decays in the soil, it may give 
rise to either alkaline or acid substances, according to 
the conditions under which the decay takes place. If 
there is plenty of air present, at least some of the com- 
pounds resulting from the decay will be alkaline. In 
fact, ammonia, one of the strongest alkalies, is pro- 
duced under such circumstances. But if the decay 
takes place with a very limited supply of air, the result- 
ing compounds are usually of an acid character. We 



no Farm Science 

shall see directly the application of these principles to 
the soil. 

How alkaline substances accumulate in the soil. We 
have already learned that most of the forces which crum- 
bled the original rocks of the earth's crust are still at 
work, just as they have always been. They work on 
the little rock particles of the soil just as they do on the 
big rocks that project from hillsides and mountain tops. 
When a piece of rock is cracked or broken, new surface 
is exposed, and the soil water can extract from it a 
small amount of soluble matter. In this way small 
quantities of soluble mineral matter are continually 
being set free in the soil. Most of these soluble sub- 
stances, as stated above, are alkaline, rather than acid, 
in nature. Some of them are valuable as plant food, 
as we shall learn when we come to consider how plants 
live. 

Why soils are alkaline in dry regions. In dry regions, 
where there is never enough rain to wet the soil more 
than a few feet deep, this soluble matter remains in the 
soil. This causes the soil to be alkaline. When these 
substances accumulate in too great quantity, especially 
when they are brought to the surface by water evapo- 
rating there, we have the dreaded alkali. 

Why soils are acid in regions of heavy rainfall. In 
regions where the rainfall is so heavy that the soil be- 
comes wet clear down to the level of the ground water, 
which is the level to which wells must be dug to find water, 
there is no chance for these soluble substances to col- 
lect in the soil. They are dissolved in the soil moisture, 
and such of them as are not taken up by growing plants 



Soil Improvement iii 

in the water their roots absorb are washed down to the 
general level of the water in the ground. This water 
finally flows out at springs, and sooner or later finds its 
way to the ocean, to which great reservoir it carries the 
mineral matter it dissolved out of the soil. This is the 
way the ocean became salty. All permanent bodies of 
water that have no outlet are salty for the same reason. 

When the soil is kept washed nearly clean of these 
soluble, alkaline substances, it becomes more or less 
acid, for the reason that the more insoluble portions of 
the soil are for the most part slightly acid in character. 
This condition exists in most soils that receive more 
than about 40 inches of rainfall a year, though there are 
some localities where there is so much Hme in the soil 
that it remains alkaline even with much greater rainfall. 
Where the rainfall is less than about 30 inches, the soil 
is usually alkaline. Between these extremes it is seldom 
very acid or very alkaline. 

Effect of standing water on soil acidity. When the 
soil becomes water-soaked, the air cannot circulate 
through it. We have already seen that under such 
conditions the decay of vegetable matter in the soil 
gives rise to acid substances. Hence soils that need 
drainage are usually acid. 

Effect of too great compactness of the soil. When 
the soil becomes so compact that air cannot circulate 
freely through it, the conditions in it are similar to those 
in soils needing drainage. Hence compact soils are 
liable to be sour. 

Effect of plowing under a green crop. When a green 
crop is plowed under, it ferments much after the man- 



112 



Farm Science 




Fig. 68. Sorrel, a weed that 
luxuriates in sour soil. 



ner of cabbage used in making 
sauerkraut. This makes the soil 
sour for a little while. But sour- 
ness caused in this manner soon 
disappears and seldom does any 
harm. This kind of sourness is, 
in fact, an excellent thing for the 
common Irish, or white, potato. 
It prevents the development of 
potato scab if the germs of this 
disease happen to be present in 
the soil or on the seed potatoes. 

Signs of soil acidity. It is not 
alwa}'s easy to tell from observa- 
tion when a soil is sour, but in 
some cases it may be done. Com- 
mon red clover, alsike clover, and 
alfalfa all dislike acid soils, and 
frequently fail on them. Potatoes 
are not liable to be scabby on 
such soils unless the seed potatoes 
are very badly infected. Sorrel 
(Fig. 68) likes acid soils and is a 
common weed on them. It gives 
very little trouble on alkaline 
soils. The presence of moss on 
the ground is a pretty sure sign 
that the soil is acid. 

A test for acidity. There are 
many substances that are of one 
color in the presence of acids and 



Soil Improvement 113 

another in the presence of alkaline substances. You 
have all seen the colored veins in the leaves of certain 
varieties of cabbage. The coloring matter in these veins 
is of this kind. It is blue when alkaline and red when 
acid. The substance known as litmus behaves in the 
same way. Paper soaked in litmus may be obtained 
at any drugstore. With it the experiment with litmus 
described at the end of this section should be tried. 
This is a very good way to determine whether the soil 
is acid. 

How to correct acidity of the soil. When acidity is 
due to too much water in the soil, the remedy is drainage. 
Where it is due to the fact that the soil is too compact, 
loosen up the soil by plowing and other tillage operations 
and by the addition of humus-making material. Acidity 
due to the plowing under of a green crop soon cures 
itself. For acidity due to the leaching out of the soluble 
mineral matter of the soil, — the common cause of acid- 
ity in regions of heavy rainfall, — lime is the commonly 
used corrective. 

Forms of lime used. Limestone (CaCOa) is the most 
common form of lime. When limestone is kept red hot 
for several days, it gives up part of its substance and 
quicklime (CaO) remains. The part given up passes 
off into the air as carbonic acid gas (CO2). When quick- 
lime is mixed with water, the two substances unite into 
one substance known as slaked lime, or water-slaked 
lime (Ca02H2). If either quicklime or water-slaked 
lime is exposed to the air for a week Or so, it again unites 
with the carbonic acid gas of the air and becomes air- 
slaked lime (CaCOa). Limestone and air-slaked lime 



114 Farm Science 

thus have the same composition, the difference between 
them being that one is a soHd mass while the other is a 
fine powder. 

Marl is another form of lime. It is merely dirt with 
a great deal of lime (limestone) in it. In localities where 
it occurs, marl is much used as a corrective of soil acidity. 
Its use by farmers dates back many hundreds of years. 
In olden times, many English farmers, when they first 
learned the value of marl, put as much as a hundred 
cart loads of it on an acre. 

Oyster shells are composed of the same substance as 
limestone. They are much used by farmers near the 
great oyster-producing centers around Chesapeake Bay 
and other places where oysters abound. They are 
usually ground, or sometimes burned, before being ap- 
plied to the land. 

Land plaster is another compound of lime. It also 
contains sulfur. Where it can be obtained cheaply, it is 
a valuable soil amendment. Land plaster, often called 
" gypsum," was much used in this country a hundred 
years ago, but it has now become too expensive for 
general use. 

Where it is not too expensive, finely ground lime- 
stone is a good form of lime to use on the soil. In some 
places slaked lime is more available. 

Amount of lime to use. Unfortunately there is no 
absolute rule governing the amount of lime a soil needs, 
if it needs any. Much depends on the previous treat- 
ment of the soil. In many places a ton of finely ground 
limestone per acre once in five or six years is sufficient. 
The farmer must learn how much to use by trial or by 



Soil Improvement 115 

observing the experience of his neighbors. Sometimes 
he can get vakiable advice on this point from his state 
experiment station. 

Soils may need lime even when there is limestone rock 
only a few feet below the surface. On the other hand, 
there are soils, even in regions of heavy rainfall, that con- 
tain too much lime. This is true of some areas of the 
black prairie soils of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, 
and Texas. These soils are heavy clay, and water does 
not circulate through them readily enough to wash out 
the hme they contain. At the same time they absorb 
water readily, and give it up to plants freely. 

If in doubt, try some lim.e. 

Efifect of lime on soil bacteria. Some of the most 
useful bacteria that live in the soil will not thrive in 
an acid soil. The use of lime in such soils is highly 
beneficial to these bacteria. We shall later learn what 
service the soil germs render the farmer. 

Effect of lime on the texture of the soil. Lime 
has the effect of causing the tiny soil particles to 
cling together in large masses. Muddy water can be 
rendered clear by adding a little quicklime to it. (See 
experiment at end of section.) With lime present in 
the water, the fine particles of earth that cause the 
muddiness will come together and the larger masses 
thus formed will settle to the bottom, leaving the water 
clear. 

Lime has the effect of rendering a clay soil more open 
and porous, because it makes it lumpy. This allows 
air and water to circulate more freely and thus im- 
proves the soil. Strangely enough, lime improves 



ii6 Farm Science 

sandy soils also, because the formation of lumps in this 
kind of soil makes it less easy for air and water to pass 
between the particles that are stuck together. 

Effect of lime on certain rock particles in the soil. 
Lime has a corroding action on certain kinds of rock 
particles in the soil, causing them to give up some of 
the plant food they contain. It thus adds to the store 
of available plant food in the soil. 

Effect of lime on organic matter in the soil. By 
favoring certain bacteria which live on the organic mat- 
ter in the soil, lime causes this organic matter to decay 
more rapidly. This sets free the plant food contained 
in the organic matter. But just here is a danger. If 
we use much lime and then fail to keep the soil well sup- 
plied with humus-making material, the last state is 
worse than the first, for the soil will soon have no humus 
in it. There is an old proverb which says that lime en- 
riches the father but impoverishes the son. This trouble 
can be avoided by adding plenty of organic matter to 
the soil. 

COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 

The methods of keeping up soil fertility discussed 
above are within the reach of practically every farmer, 
and for the most part require only a little more labor on 
his part. He may have to spend a little money for 
lime, but in many places he can dig this out of marl beds 
or get it by burning limestone, which is often found on 
the farm. In any case lime is usually cheap. 

But there are cases in which it is advisable, or even 
necessary, to use commercial fertilizers. As we have al- 
ready learned, the marine sediment which constitutes the 



Soil Improvement 117 

soil of the Atlantic and Gulf coast country consists 
largely of the most insoluble kinds of rock particles. 
Most of these soils are also more or less sandy, and or- 
ganic matter rots out of them rapidly. Hence they do 
not in general contain as liberal a supply of plant food 
as many other soils. In this region commercial ferti- 
lizers are very generally used, — • more so than in any 
other in this country. In central and southern Texas, 
where the rainfall is light, these soils are well supplied 
with soluble mineral matter because there is not enough 
rain to wash it out of the soil as it forms. 

Because of the great number of soil types, all differing 
more or less in their fertilizer requirements, the fact that 
the requirements of the same soil are not the same from 
year to year, owing to difference in treatment in differ- 
ent years, and that the same crop may need different 
kinds of fertilizers under different conditions of soil and 
climate, it has never been possible to lay down definite 
rules for the use of fertilizers except for particular cases ; 
and there are not many of these cases for which the 
best practice is known. 

Further treatment of the fertilizer problem will be 
given when we have learned more about how plants 
grow. For the present we must be content with the 
following general statements : 

If a soil has very little humus in it, it may be neces- 
sary to use some commercial fertilizers in order to pro- 
duce humus-making crops. At the same time, on most 
soils commercial fertilizers produce much less effect 
when humus is lacking than they would with a plentiful 
supply of humus. 



ii8 Farm Science 

For crops like fruit, market vegetables, etc., the prod- 
ucts of which bring large sums per acre when prices 
are good, it usually pays to use fertilizers. 

Sandy soils, which are open and porous, usually have 
little humus in them. The air gets into such soils so 
easily that the bacteria that cause decay are very active 
when they have anything to live on. Fertilizers are 
nearly always necessary on such soils, but quite fre- 
quently they do little or no good unless plenty of humus- 
making material is added to the soil. 

The fertilizer problem is at best a local one, and the 
farmer should keep in close touch with his state experi- 
ment station in regard to the use of fertilizers. He should 
also pay the closest attention to the practice of those 
farmers in his locality whose crops yield the best, pro- 
vided his soil is the same as theirs. 

The quantity of fertilizers to use in any given case 
depends on the character of the soil, on the kind of crop 
grown, on the cost of fertilizing materials, and on the 
price of the product produced by the crop. When fer- 
tilizers are cheap and when prices for crop products are 
high, it pays to use more fertilizer than when the opposite 
conditions prevail. 

Things to Observe 

Examine the leaf mold in a forest if one is near by. Note 
the gradual change from fresh leaves on top to decayed 
leaves at the bottom where the layer of leaves gradually 
merges into the soil. Note how loose and friable the soil 
is under this carpet of leaves. Would not such a soil absorb 
rain water readily? 

Observe whether water runs on the surface of the ground 



Soil Improvement 119 

in a forest when a hard rain comes, as it does where the 
ground is bare. Do you find as much evidence of surface 
washing in the forest as elsewhere ? Why is this ? 

Examine the soil on a washed hillside and also in a level 
valley. In which do you find the most vegetable matter ? 

Experiments 

1. Litmus test for acidity. Get some blue Htmus paper 
from a drugstore. Be careful not to touch it with the bare 
fingers, for this would change its color. Five cents' worth 
is ample for many experiments. Dig down in the soil to be 
tested, till moist soil is found. Take up a handful of the moist 
soil, separate it into two parts, place a small piece of htmus 
paper on one of the parts and then press the other part against 
it for a few seconds. Then examine the litmus paper to see 
if it has changed color. If the soil is very acid, the litmus 
paper will turn quite red. 

2. Muriatic acid test for limestone. Get five or ten cents' 
worth of muriatic acid at the drugstore. Pour a drop or 
two on a piece of limestone. The action of the acid pro- 
duces bubbles of carbonic acid gas. Test samples of marl or 
other soil supposed to contain lime to see if they will foam 
in the same manner. They will if they contain much lime- 
stone. Try a httle of the acid on an oyster shell. The 
symbol of muriatic acid is HCl ; of limestone, CaCOs. When 
the two are brought together the following reaction occurs : 

2 HCl + CaCos -> CaCl. + H.O + CO2. 

In other words, two molecules of the acid and one of lime- 
stone tear each other apart, the atoms reuniting to form one 
molecule of chloride of lime, one of water, and one of carbonic 
acid gas. It is the formation of the gas and water that causes 
the bubbles. 

3. Effect of lime on muddy water. Take two glasses of 
water from a muddy pond and put a little quicklime or slaked 
lime into one of them. The lime will cause the little particles 



120 Farm Science 

of earth to cling together, and the larger masses thus formed 
will soon settle to the bottom, leaving the water clear. It 
may take several hours to get the complete effect. Muddy- 
water for this experiment may be had by stirring some clay 
soil into water. Why should the water used in this experi- 
ment not be " hard " water? 

4. Effect of alkaline substances on acids. Pour, drop by 
drop, into a glass of sour milk a solution of ammonia, concen- 
trated lye, caustic potash or soda, or strong limewater, 
stirring meanwhile to mix the milk and the substance added 
to it. It is a good idea to put a piece of Htmus paper in the 
milk. The milk will turn it red. When enough of the alkaline 
substance has been added, the Htmus paper will turn blue. 
This experiment can be performed without the use of litmus 
paper, but is more instructive with it. When the acid in 
the milk has all been changed into non-acids by the alkaline 
substance, the milk will assume the appearance and consist- 
ency of ordinary sweet milk; that is, it will lose its " clab- 
ber " and its sour taste, though it may not taste exactly 
hke ordinary milk because of the substance added in the 
experiment. The alkaline substance unites chemically 
with the acid, forming substances that are neither acid nor 
alkaline. 



PART TWO — THE PLANT 
CHAPTER EIGHT 

PLANT ORGANS AND THEIR USES 

Kinds of organs. We have already learned that 
plants are organic bodies, which means that they are 
composed of parts, or organs, each having its own par- 
ticular work to do. Plants have three principal kinds 
of organs, — roots, stems, and leaves. Flowers are only 
modifications of stems and leaves, as we shall see later. 

Roots. The principal business of plant roots is to 
absorb water from the soil, and along- with it the plant 
food materials dissolved in this water. They also serve 
to hold the plant in place. Roots differ from stems 
in the following particulars : they generally grow below 
ground, while stems generally grow above ground ; but 
there are exceptions to both these statements. Under- 
ground roots, near their ends, are covered by slender, 
hairlike projections, called root hairs. It is these root 
hairs that absorb water from the soil. We shall learn 
more of them presently. Stems have no corresponding 
outgrowths, though many stems are covered with fuzz 
or bristles, which, however, serve a different purpose. 
Stems produce leaves and buds at regular intervals ; 
that is, the leaves and buds on stems are arranged 
according to a definite plan. Roots produce neither 
leaves nor buds, though roots that live from year to year 
are generally capable of producing sprouts from any 
part of their surface. 



122 Farm Science 

Leaves. The leaves of plants have several important 
offices. In the first place, plant roots absorb enormous 
quantities of water from the soil, amounting to from 
300 to 800 pounds for every pound of growth made by 
the plant (not counting the water in the plant). Most 
of this water evaporates at the leaves, and thus passes 
off into the air as water vapor. 

In the second place, .leaves absorb carbonic acid gas 
(CO2) from the air, and thus obtain the carbon which 
makes up so large a part of the substance of the plant. 
It is this carbon that makes charcoal when any kind of 
plant material is heated in the absence of air, so that it 
cannot burn. 

Finally, and most important of all, the green coloring 
matter in leaves and young stems has the power, when 
light is shining on it, of splitting apart the carbon and 
oxygen of which carbonic acid gas consists, and of 
causing the carbon thus liberated to unite with water, 
thus beginning the formation of the various substances 
that go to make up the plant. No one yet knows just 
how light, acting on the green substance in the leaves, 
accomplishes this work. But the life of all ordinary 
plants and of all animals is absolutely dependent on 
this process. Without it plants could not grow, and 
we should have no food. If you study Plant Physi- 
ology, you will learn more about this very important 
matter. 

Stems. The principal work of stems and their 
branches is to convey water and plant food material 
from the roots to the leaves, and to carry back to the 
growing parts of the plant the plant food manufactured 



Plant Organs and Their Uses 123 

in the leaves. In trees, the water and plant food ma- 
terials obtained from the soil move upward through 
the sap wood, there being channels specially provided 
for this purpose. The plant food manufactured in the 
leaves moves downward in a thin layer of material (the 
cambium layer) between the bark and the wood. The 
heartwood of a tree is dead, and the only reason it re- 
mains sound is that it is protected by the bark and sap- 
wood from the bacteria, fungi, etc., that cause decay. 
The heartwood was once sapwood. 

In many kinds of plants there are special channels 
scattered throughout the stems for carrying up water 
and plant materials from the soil, and others for carry- 
ing the manufactured food back from the leaves. These 
channels in a cornstalk are located in the fibers in the 
pith. The story of these channels is interesting, but it 
belongs to botany. 

It will be noted that large plant stems are usually 
branched and that the leaves are found chiefly out near 
the ends of the branches, especially if the branches are 
close together. This is to give each leaf a chance to get 
its share of sunlight and air. There are few or no leaves 
inside a dense tree top, just as there is little or no under- 
growth in a dense forest, and for the same reason. 

MODIFICATIONS OF PLANT ORGANS 

Flowers. The stem of a flower is a modified branch, 
and the other parts of a flower are modified leaves. 
The business of flowers is to produce seed. We shall 
learn more about them when we come to study how 
seeds are produced. 



124 Farm Science 

Buds. Buds are rudimentary branches ; that is, 
they are branches at a very early stage of development. 
Practically every leaf has a bud somewhere near its 
base, usually just above it. The leaves on some trees 
have several buds at their base. Note the position of 
these buds on a number of plants, especially trees. The 
bud does not really belong to the leaf, but is an outgrowth 
of the stem to which the leaf is attached. 

On stems that live only one season, the parts of the 
bud are merely rudimentary leaves, many of which 
never grow to maturity. On stems that live from year 
to year, the outer layers of the bud are rudimentary 
leaves (" bud scales ") modified into a form that serves 
to protect the delicate inner portions of the bud. The 
bud scales do not develop into full-grown leaves, but 
fall off when the bud begins to grow into a branch. The 
little leaves in the center of the bud later become ordi- 
nary leaves. 

On trees, the buds that form one year develop into 
branches (or flowers) the next year, or sometimes later, 
or sometimes they never develop further. By picking 
buds to pieces you can soon learn to tell fruit buds 
(those that will develop into flowers) from leaf buds 
(those that will develop into ordinary branches). After 
you have learned the trick you can usually tell the two 
kinds apart without picking them to pieces. 

Thorns, briers, and spines. Thorns are modified 
branches, as can easily be seen by examining them when 
they are young and still growing, on any tree that pro- 
duces thorns. At this stage thorns have little leaves 
on them, just as ordinary stems do. 



Plant Organs and Their Uses 125 

Briers, such as are found on rose bushes, blackberry 
vines, etc., are outgrowths of the bark. 

Spines are sharp projections growing out from the 
ends of the principal branches of the framework of a 
leaf. In the prickly pear, and other cacti, the entire 
leaf is reduced to the form of a spine, while the stems of 
the plant are modified into leaflike organs and serve 
the purpose of leaves. 

Rootstocks. Rootstocks are stems that grow under- 
ground. (See Figure 98, page 186.) They have no 
root hairs on them and do not absorb water as roots 
do. They also have rudimentary leaves on them with 
a bud at each leaf, which roots do not have. Some of 
the worst weeds in the country, such as Johnson grass 
in the South and quack grass in the North, owe their 
weedy tendencies to the fact that they produce long, 
vigorous rootstocks. The common Irish, or white, 
potato has these underground stems, thickened portions 
of which are the part of the plant we eat. 

FOOD STORAGE IN PLANTS 

When an animal eats more than it needs, a part of 
the food is ordinarily converted into fat, which is stored 
up in the body to be used in case of hunger. Plants 
store their surplus food mostly in the form of starch ; 
sometimes as sugar ; sometimes in other forms. In 
many kinds of plants the part of the plant in which this 
storage of food occurs becomes swollen and fleshy. In 
the sweet potato, turnip, beet, carrot, etc., the starch 
or sugar is stored in the root. In the Irish potato it is 
stored in thickened portions of underground stems, 



126 Farm Science 

constituting tubers. In onions the bases of the leaves 
become thick and fleshy, constituting a bulb. Onion 
" sets " are buds with the scales (rudimentary leaves) 
swollen with stored food. The sets take the place of 
flowers on the plant. The timothy plant has a swelling 
at the base of the stem, in which considerable nutriment 
for next year's growth is stored. If grazed so close that 
these swellings are destroyed, the stand soon dies out. 
Numerous other methods of storing food are found in 
the plant world ; the student should look for them in 
the plants with which he is famihar. 

All plants with woody stems store food in the sap of 
their stems, branches, and roots. Maple sugar is made 
from sugar thus stored. It is this stored food that en- 
ables the tree to throw out new leaves and flowers in 
the spring. Near my window a large maple tree this 
spring lost its young leaves by frost; it threw out a 
second set smaller than usual. 

All plants store more or less food in their seeds, so 
that the germinating seedling may have something to 
live on until it develops roots and leaves. 

In all the cases of food storage noted above, the pur- 
pose is to furnish nutriment to the plant with which 
to start growth the next year, before new leaves are 
developed. 

All kinds of fleshy fruits represent stored food ; but 
in this case the purpose is often to tempt animals to eat 
the fruit and thus scatter the seeds of the plant. Man 
has taken advantage of this property of plants and by 
long-continued selection of desirable variations in quaHty 
has produced many fine fruits. In fact, all the above 



Plant Organs and Their Uses 127 

methods of storing food to which plants resort have 
proved useful to man. 

Things to Observe 

Examine the ends of freshly cut sticks and logs. Note 
the dark heartwood at the center and the surrounding sap- 
wood. How large does a tree get before it begins to have 
heartwood? Study the bark of trees and shrubs. Note the 
outer, dead portion, the middle live bark, and the cambium 
layer between wood and bark. When the plant is growing 
vigorously, the cambium layer contains much plant food in 
a slimy, sirupy condition. It is at this time that bark peels 
most readily. Note also the rings of growth in the wood. 
One of these forms during each growing period, usually one a 
year, but two may form in one season if the middle of the 
season is very dry. Where is the new layer formed ? 

Examine a tree with a dense top, in summer. Where are 
nearly all the leaves ? Why is this ? 

Note the location of buds with reference to leaves. Note 
this especially on sycamore and on hickory trees if any grow 
in the vicinity. How many buds do you find at the base 
of each leaf? 

Study the structure of several kinds of buds. See if 
you can tell fruit buds from leaf buds on fruit trees. Fruit 
buds are those that develop into flowers, and later into 
fruits. 

Note the arrangement of leaves and buds on the stem of 
the plant, i Is there any regularity in this arrangement ? Is 
it the same on all kinds of plants? 

Note that buds have wood at the center, and that this wood 
connects with the wood of the stem on which the bud grows. 
Note the pith in this wood. Does the pith of the wood in 
the bud connect with that of the stem? Are the bases of 
leaves connected with the wood of the stem on which they 
grow, or only with the bark? 



128 Farm Science 

Examine young growing thorns. Can you find little leaves 
on them ? Is the arrangement of these leaves similar to that 
of other leaves on the same plant? 

Examine the briers on rose and blackberry bushes. To 
what are they attached, bark or wood? 

On spiny leaves note location of spines with reference to 
the ends of the branches of the framework of the leaves. 

Examine the underground parts of such plants as the Irish 
(white) potato, Johnson grass, quack grass, and blackberry 
bushes. Distinguish between roots and underground stems 
(rootstocks). Do you find rudimentary leaves and small 
buds on the rootstocks? 

Examine all plants you find with parts swollen from stored 
food. Note in what part of the plant the food is stored, 
whether root, stem, rootstock, leaves, base of leaf, etc. 



CHAPTER NINE 

HOW PLANTS LIVE 






Journal of Heredity 
Fig. 69. Stage of growth reached by a win- 
ter annual m late fall or early winter. 

Length of life. Plants which grow from seed, ma- 
ture, produce seed, and then die, root and branch, all 
in one growing season, are called annuals. Name sev- 
eral annuals among our common field and garden crops. 
Plants that germinate in the fall, form a " rosette " 
of leaves at the surface of the ground (Fig. 69), live in 
the rosette stage over winter, grow to maturity the fol- 
lowing summer, produce seed, and then die, root and 
branch, are called ivinter annuals. Winter wheat is 
a winter annual. Plants like beets, turnips, cabbage, 
etc., that grow one full season but do not produce seed 
till the next, and then die completely, are called biennials. 
In our climate many of these biennials must be put in 
storage in winter in order to preserve them. A plant 

129 



130 Farm Science 

which lives several years is said to be a perennial. Ex- 
amples are alfalfa, bermuda grass, timothy, and all 
kinds of trees. 

Perennials are of two kinds. In one kind both root 
and stem live from year to year. In the other only the 
root lives over, new stems rising from buds formed 
the previous year at the point where root and stem 
meet ; that is, from the " crown " of the plant. 

FACTS FROM OTHER SCIENCES 

Before we can understand how plants obtain their 
food and drink, and how they breathe, we must learn a 
few facts from other sciences. At this point you should 
review carefully the facts from chemistry given in Chap- 
ter One. 

Air. The air is not a chemical compound. It is a 
mixture of several gases. About four fifths of it is nitro- 
gen, N2. Most of the other fifth is oxygen, O2. Car- 
bonic acid gas, CO2, constitutes about four hundredths 
of one per cent. Small quantities of other gases are 
present. There is always more or less water vapor in 
the air, but the amount varies greatly. Clouds are 
formed from this vapor. Rain, dew, and frost all come 
from this source. Water vapor gets into the air by 
evaporation from water surfaces everywhere. 

The air found in the capillary spaces of the soil con- 
tains less oxygen and much more CO2 than does the air 
above ground. This is because one of the most impor- 
tant of the chemical changes that take place in the decay 
of organic matter in the soil is the chemical union of 
oxygen from the air with the carbon contained in the 



How Plants Live 131 

organic matter, forming CO2. The chemical changes 
that occur in decaying organic matter everywhere are 
due to the action of bacteria and other minute organisms, 
of which we shall learn more presently. 

Carbonic acid gas sometimes accumulates in wells 
in which pieces of timber or other organic matter are 
allowed to decay. Fire will not burn, nor can animals 
live, in an atmosphere consisting largely of CO2. This 
gas sometimes accumulates in silos from decay of the 
silage, and several cases are on record of deaths of farmers 
from this cause. If the top of the silo is open, or if 
there are side doors left open a little above the level of 
the silage, there is little or no danger from this source. 

Combustion. Most chemical changes are accom- 
panied by the production of heat. When carbon unites 
with oxygen to form CO2, and when hydrogen unites 
with oxygen to form H2O, a great deal of heat is pro- 
duced. The heat from an ordinary fire in which coal 
or wood is burned is due to the formation of CO2 and 
water by chemical union of the oxygen of the air and 
the carbon and hydrogen found in coal and wood. 
This explains why a fire goes out unless air can get 
to it. Combustion, or burning, is thus due to chemical 
action in which great heat is produced. 

In converting food to use in the body, the carbon and 
hydrogen of the food unite chemically with oxygen in 
the blood. The blood obtains its oxygen from the air 
in the lungs. There is thus a slow burning going on in 
the blood at all times. This is what keeps the body 
warm. The amount of oxygen taken in at the lungs is 
so small that the resulting combustion in the body does 



132 



Farm Science 



not go on rapidly. Hence, although a large amount 
of heat is produced, considering the small amount of 






"_~ 



Fig. 70. Greatly magnified view of a thin slice cut lengthwise from a small 
corn root. The cells are elongated in the direction of the length of the root. 

material burned, the resulting temperature is only- 
moderate. 

Internal structure of plants. When a very thin slice 
is cut from the body of a plant and examined under a 
high-power microscope, an internal structure like that 
seen in Figure 70 or 71 is found. Figure 70 represents 
a sUce cut lengthwise, and Figure 71 one cut crosswise, 
from a small root of a corn plant. The body of the 
plant is thus seen not to be solid throughout. It con- 
tains, in fact, an immense number of small cavities, 
separated by thin partitions. The cavities are called 
cells. The partitions are the cell walls. But these 
cavities are not empty in living plant material. Figure 
72 (left end) shows what they contain. Just within the 
cell wall, and lying in contact with it, is a soft, jellylike 
material which scientists call cytoplasm. Since we shall 
have little use for this big word, it is not necessary 
to remember it longer than while reading this and a few 



How Plants Live 



133 




later chapters. In plants, there are usually one or more 

drops of clear liquid cell sap lying in the cytoplasm. The 

green coloring matter in 

leaves is found in the 

cytoplasm of the cells of 

which leaves are built up. 

Grains of starch also are 

often found in this part 

of the cell. 

Surrounded by the 
cytoplasm is the nucleus. 
This is by far the most 
important part of the 
cell. The structure of 
the nucleus is very com- 
plex, and we cannot here consider it in detail. You 
will learn its structure if you study botany, or some 
other branch of biology. It is sufficient for our purpose 
to know that the real business part of the nucleus con- 
sists of a number of small bodies made up of a material 
called chromatin. This material is of the consistency of 
a rather thick jelly. It is the chrorriatin that has the 
power of converting food material into real body ma- 
terial. It thus presides over growth and nutrition. 
There is usually a thin membrane surrounding the 
nucleus and separating it from the cytoplasm, but at 



Fig. 71. Greatly magnified view of thin 
slice cut crosswise from a small corn root. 






Fig. 72. Diagram of parts of a living cell. At left : a, cell wall; b, cytoplasm; 
c, nucleus. Center : a cell dividing. Right : two new cells formed from old one. 



^34 



Farm Science 




Fig. 73. Several individual yeast 
plants. All but one plant are in the 
act of producing new plants by " bud- 
ding." 



times this membrane disappears, and in some very lowly 
organisms it is not found at all. In fact, in some very 

simple forms of plant life 
the chromatin is scattered in 
small particles throughout 
the cytoplasm, but in all the 
higher plants it is collected 
into a true nucleus. 

The term cell was applied 
above to the small cavities 
shown in Figures 70 and 71. 
Scientists more usually apply this term to the things 
contained in these cavities ; that is, to the cytoplasm, 
nucleus, etc., including the surrounding walls. A typical 
cell thus consists of the cell wall, the nucleus, and the 
cytoplasm, with whatever bodies the cytoplasm may 
contain, such as chlorophyl grains, drops of cell sap, etc. 
Number of cells in a living organism. The entire 
body of every plant or animal is built up of cells more 
or less like those we have been considering. These cells 
differ in size and shape in different kinds of plants and 
animals, and in different parts of the same plant or 
animal, but always they are very minute. The number 
of such cells in the entire body of a living organism is 
roughly proportional to the size of the body. We find 
everywhere Httle plants and animals so small that 
they are scarcely visible without the aid of a magnifying 
glass. These have relatively few cells in their bodies. 
But there are many kinds of both plants and animals that 
are too small to be seen by the unaided eye. Thousands 
of kinds of these are so small in size that even when 



How Plants Live 



135 




Journal oj Agricidlural Research 
Fig. 74. Bacteria. 



full grown, they consist of a single cell. The numerous 
kinds of bacteria and yeasts are one-celled organisms. 

Creatures exist consisting of _ 

all numbers of cells, from the 
one-celled yeasts, bacteria, etc., 
to creatures like the elephant, 
with bodies consisting of billions 
of cells. 

Figure 73 shows some yeast 
plants, very much magnified. 
All but one of the individuals 
in this illustration happen to be 
in the process of producing new 
cells, which in this plant are formed as " buds " from 
old ones. Yeasts have another way also of producing 
new yeast plants, that we need not consider here. 

Figures 74 and 75 show two kinds of bacteria, also 
greatly magnified. Though both yeasts and bacteria 
are one-celled organisms, yeast plants are much larger 
than bacteria. 

How growth takes place. 
Every plant or animal, at 
the very beginning of its 
existence, consists of a single 
cell. The process by which 
they develop into large 
bodies consisting of a vast 
number of cells is illustrated 
in Figure 72. At the left of 

° ° ' Journal of Agricultural Science 

with its cell wall, cytoplasm, Fig. 75- Another kind of bacteria. 




136 Farm Science 

and nucleus. When such a cell reaches its full growth, 
the nucleus first separates into two, as shown in the 
second section of the figure. Next a partition begins 
to form between the two new nuclei. When this parti- 
tion is completed, we have two new cells where formerly 
there was but one. In the case of organisms that are 
to remain one-celled, the two new cells separate, as 
shown at the right of the figure. But if the individual 
is to develop into a many-celled organism, the two new 
cells stick together. When the new cells reach maturity, 
each of them divides again in the same way, and this 
process continues until the plant or animal has reached 
the full size which its hereditary characteristics call 
for. 

Every organic being in the world is thus made up of 
cells, and every living cell was derived from another 
cell by essentially the process illustrated in Figure 72. 
How did the first cell originate? The scientist who 
answers this question will rank among the greatest 
scientists of all time. 

Conducting tissue. It has already been stated that 
plant roots absorb large quantities of water from the 
soil. Most of this water passes up through the roots 
and stem of the plant to the leaves, where it evaporates. 
In the body of the plant there are columns of long cells, 
the special purpose of which is to serve as channels for 
the upward passage of this water. These columns 
of cells are a part of the " conducting tissue " of the 
plant. The two dark-colored columns of cells in 
Figure 70 are conducting tissue. How the water gets 
into the roots of the plant, and how it passes through 



How Plants Live 



137 



the cfell walls in going from one cell to the next above, 
is told under the next heading. 



.M^ 



OSMOSIS 

Experiment. Obtain from 
some place where animals are 
butchered a fresh pig bladder. 
Fill it with water in which 
sufficient salt has been dis- 
solved to make a strong brine. 
Then tie it securely with a 
cord strong enough to support 
its weight. Suspend it by this 
cord and carefully measure its 
circumference (the distance 
around it). Leave it suspended 
overnight in a vessel of water. 
(See Figure 76.) Next morning, 
if the bladder has not burst, take 
it out of the vessel and measure 
its circumference again. Has it 
increased in size ? 




Fig. 76. Osmosis. A bladder filled 
with strong brine is placed in water. 
The water passes through the porous 
bladder wall and swells the bladder. 



In this experiment we have 
a thin wall which is more or 
less porous, though the pores are much too small to 
be seen, having on one side of it a dense liquid (brine) 
and on the other side a less dense one (water). Under 
such conditions the less dense of the two liquids flows 
through the wall into the denser liquid. Some of the 
latter also may flow through the wall, but not so much 
of it. This flow of a less dense liquid through a porous 
membrane into a denser one is called osmosis. This is 
the method by which plant roots absorb water from the 



138 Farm Science 

soil, and by which water passes from cell to cell on its 
way from the roots up to the leaves. The sap in the 
root hairs is denser than the water in the soil. The sap 
in the cells in the upper part of the plant is denser than 
that in the lower part. Hence the water flows into the 
root hairs, and from cell to cell in the roots, till it 
enters certain conducting channels, up which it flows to 
the leaves. There it passes into the leaf cells, and 
again from cell to cell till it reaches all parts of the leaf 
and finally passes ofif as vapor into the air. 

It is by this same process of osmosis that the food we 
eat, after being dissolved in the digestive 
juices in the stomach and intestines, gets 
into the veins, and is thus carried to all 
parts of the body. Osmosis is the most 
^^5-^ important process in nature. All life is 
directly dependent on it. 

HOW PLANTS DRINK 

Root hairs. Root hairs occur only near 
the tip of young, growing rootlets (Fig. 77). 
They live only a short while (a few weeks, 
perhaps), but new ones form farther on 
along the rootlet as it grows. Figure 78 
shows the structure of a root hair. It also 
haks." These shows the relation of root hairs to the other 
occur only near cclls of the root. They are simply exten- 

thetipsofgrow- . .^^^ ^j^^ ^^.^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^jj^ 

ing rootlets. 

Their function of the root. Insidc their thin, dehcate 
is to absorb ^^^jj^ ^^ ^f ^-^ose of the cells to which they 

water from the 

soil. are attached, there are a nucleus and cyto- 







How Plants Live 



139 




Yearbook, U. S. Dcpt. of Agric, 1804 
Fig. 78. Relation of root hair to soil grains: e, surface cell of the rootlet; k, 
root hair; cc, intimate contact of root hair and soil grains; aa, air spaces in 
the soil. Note the water surrounding the air spaces and covering all the soil 
grains. 

plasm, as there are in any living cell. The root hairs 
come into the most intimate contact with the rock 
particles and the particles of organic matter in the soil, 
as shown in Figure 78. 

Office of root hairs. These slender projections from 
the surface cells of the growing rootlet have just one 
purpose. Their business is to absorb water from the 
soil, and along with it the soluble plant food materials 
contained in this water. Soil water enters the root 
hairs by the process of osmosis, as has already been 
stated. The plant food materials dissolved in this 
water enter along with the water. 

The amount of water thus taken up from the soil 
by growing plants is very great. As before stated, it 
amounts to from 300 to 800 pounds of water for every 



I40 Farm Science 

pound of growth made by the plant, not counting the 
water in the plant. The reason why so much water is 
necessary lies in the fact that the amount of plant food 
material dissolved in the soil water is exceedingly small, 
and it is necessary to take in enough water to obtain all the 
food material of this kind required by the growing plant. 

Uses of water in the plant. The first service which 
water renders to plants is to bring into the plant all 
those kinds of plant food materials required from the 
soil. Water, with the aid of carbonic acid gas dissolved 
in it, dissolves several substances from the rock particles 
and the decaying organic matter of the soil. Once 
inside the plant, water serves as the vehicle for the trans- 
portation of plant food from one part of the plant to 
another. In plants that are not woody the walls of 
many of the cells are very thin and delicate. Were it 
not for the water in these cells, their walls would col- 
lapse. Water thus gives rigidity (stiffness) to the 
tender green plant. 

By far the greater portion of the water that enters 
the roots of a growing plant is evaporated at its leaves. 
A smaller portion remains in the cells of the plant to give 
them rigidity. A still smaller portion enters into chemi- 
cal combination with the carbon obtained from the air 
and the plant food materials obtained from the soil, 
and thus goes toward building up the various substances 
of which the plant consists. Water used in this latter 
manner loses its identity as water ; that is, in these 
new combinations it is no longer water, the hydrogen and 
oxygen of which it is composed being combined differ- 
ently from what they are in water. 



How Plants Live 141 

Amount of water in plants. From 60 to 90 per cent 
of the weight of ordinary green growing plants, not 
including woody plants, consists of water. This is in 
addition to the hydrogen and oxygen taken from water 
and used in building up other substances. When new 
corn is ripe enough to husk, the grain contains about 
25 per cent of water — enough to cause the corn to 
spoil if not housed in a well-ventilated storage room. 
When dried out until it contains only about 12 to 15 
per cent of water, it is then dry enough to keep with- 
out danger of spoiling. Freshly cured hay may contain 
as much as 20 or 25 per cent of moisture, but is liable 
to spoil with more than about 15 per cent. Hay, 
grain, etc., are considered well dried with 10 to 12 per 
cent of moisture in them. In very dry regions hay 
and grain sometimes become so dry they have only 3 
or 4 per cent of moisture. When as dry as this, they 
are very brittle. 

Dry matter. By heating organic substances to a suffi- 
ciently high temperature (about 212 to 230 degrees) 
for several hours, practically all the water in them can 
be driven off. The material that remains is called " dry 
matter." Dry matter is sometimes referred to as 
" water-free " material. The percentage of water in 
several crop products is given in the preceding para- 
graph. Subtracting these percentages from 100 gives 
the percentage of dry matter in the products. 

HOW PLANTS BREATHE 

Animals have special breathing organs, the lungs. 
This is because air cannot readily pass into the body 



142 Farm Science 

through the skin. When the air gets into the lungs, the 
oxygen of the air passes by osmosis through the thin 
walls of the blood vessels and enters the blood, where 
it is carried to all parts of the body. Chemical re- 
actions take place between this oxygen and the food 
materials already in the blood. Thus a slow kind of 
burning takes place, and this furnishes the heat and 
energy required by the body. 

Plants, unlike animals, have numerous openings in 
their outer covering through which air can enter and 
CO2 gas formed in the plant can pass out. Hence they 
do not require special breathing organs like the lungs of 
animals. In fact, lungs would be of little value to them 
without veins and arteries filled with blood driven by a 
heart to carry the dissolved oxygen in the blood all over 
the body. Oxygen absorbed through the pores of the 
outer covering unites with carbon in the growing parts 
of the plant, forming CO2, which passes out at the pores 
where the oxygen entered. Plants thus respire just as 
animals do, but the mechanism by which respiration is 
accomplished is different. 

The CO2 absorbed by the green portions of living 
plants, mentioned under the next heading, has nothing 
to do with respiration. It is food material, not breath. 

HOW PLANTS FEED 

How their food materials are obtained. Plants 
obtain their food materials in two entirely different 
ways. First, their leaves and other green parts absorb 
carbonic acid gas (CO2) from the air. The carbon thus 
obtained constitutes by far the greater portion of the 



How Plants Live 143 

dry matter of plants. In fact, the hydrogen and oxygen 
obtained from water and the carbon obtained from 
CO2 gas together make up almost the entire dry matter 
of plants except the portion left as ashes when plant 
materials are burned. 

The other source of plant food materials consists of 
the substances dissolved in the water which plants 
absorb from the soil. 

A difference between plants and animals. Animals 
get all their carbon from such foods as starch, sugar, 
and other carbon-containing substances eaten. They 
can make no use of the COo of the air. Among plants, 
it is only those that obtain food from living organisms 
on which they are parasitic, or from dead organic matter, 
that get their carbon as animals do. Other plants get 
all their carbon from the COo of the air. ^ -, 

Office of green coloring matter in plants. As already 
stated,, the green color of leaves and young shoots is due 
to a substance called chlorophyl, a word derived from 
two Greek words meaning " green " and '' leaf." This 
green substance is the most important single substance 
in the world. If it should suddenly disappear, all 
animals, and most plants, would die of starvation. 
Yet it is not a food for either plants or animals. Why, 
then, is it so important? 

In carbonic acid gas (CO2) the carbon is chemically 
combined with oxygen. In this condition carbon is 
utterly useless to both plants and animals. When 
CO2 is absorbed by the leaves of plants, its molecules 
come in contact with those of chlorophyl. Water also 
is present in the cells with the chlorophyl. When 



144 Farm Science 

water, chlorophyl, and carbonic acid gas are brought 
together in the dark, nothing happens. But when 
these three substances are brought together in strong 
sunHght, a series of chemical reactions begins which 
results finally in the formation of starch, sugar, or other 
substances which serve as food for the growing parts of 
the plant. The process by which these substances are 
formed is called photosynthesis, from two Greek words 
meaning " light " and '' putting together." The sub- 
stances thus formed consist entirely of carbon, hydro- 
gen, and oxygen. The carbon comes from the carbonic 
acid gas, and the hydrogen and oxygen from water. In 
weaker light the process of photosynthesis goes on less 
vigorously. Plants continue to grow at night as long 
as the products of photosynthesis formed during the 
day hold out, but they stop when these substances have 
all been used up. Crops grow less in cloudy than in 
bright, sunshiny weather, because in cloudy weather the 
process of photosynthesis goes forward very slowly. 
Hence little food is manufactured. 

On a bright, sunny day leaves may gain as much as 
30 per cent in weight from the starch formed in them. 
At night this starch disappears. The juices of the plant 
slowly convert it into a kind of sugar, which dissolves, 
and is then carried in the sap to all parts of the plant, 
where it is used in forming the many substances found 
in plants. To form some of these substances the starch 
(or sugar) must unite with the food materials brought 
in water from the soil. 

Mineral food materials obtained from the soil. The 
water which plant roots absorb from the soil contains in 



How Plants Live 145 

solution many substances. These substances are mostly 
compounds (not elementary substances). But we are 
not here concerned with the compounds themselves; 
our interest lies in the chemical elements of which these 
compounds consist. One of these elements is nitrogen, 
which will be considered later. Several of them are 
not used by the plant as food, and we need not consider 
them further. They merely accumulate in the cells 
of the plant. The remaining six constitute what is 
called the mineral food material of plants. The names 
and chemical symbols of these six elements are : 

Potassium K(Latin, kalium) Phosphorus P 

Calcium Ca Sulfur S 

Magnesium Mg 

Iron Fe (Latin, fcrnim) 

The four elements in the first column, when uncom- 
bined with other elements, are metals. The other two 
are non-metals. Iron and sulfur are familiar in their 
elementary form. The others unite so readily with 
oxygen and various other elements that they are never 
found in nature as elements, though chemists know how 
to separate them from their combinations and thus 
obtain them in their elementary form. 

Sources of mineral plant food elements. These 
mineral plant food elements occur in various compounds 
found in the rock particles of the soil. When water 
has carbonic acid gas dissolved in it, as soil water always 
has, it can dissolve out considerable quantities of these 
mineral substances from the soil particles. In soils 
poor in humus, plants must depend very largely on this 
means of obtaininsi mineral food materials. But when 



146 Farm Science 

plenty of decaying organic matter is present, the soil 
water dissolves mineral matter out of this. Mineral 
matter thus obtained is just what the plant needs, for 
it is the material used by preceding generations of plants. 
The importance of keeping the soil well supplied with 
decaying organic matter is thus clearly evident. It 
supplies a large amount of mineral matter of just the 
kinds needed by the growing crop. The great value 
of organic matter in the soil is perhaps the most impor- 
tant single lesson the farmer has to learn from the science 
of agriculture. 

Nitrogen. All plants contain some nitrogen in their 
make-up. When not combined with other elements 
nitrogen is a gas, the molecular symbol of which is N2. 
As already stated, four fifths of the atmosphere consists 
of this gas, and this is the original source from which 
all the nitrogen in plant and animal substances comes. 
There is an ample supply of it. But in its elementary 
form nitrogen is useless as a food material for animals 
and for most kinds of plants. Fortunately there are 
some kinds of plants that can use it. We shall learn 
about them presently. The hfe of all other plants and 
of all animals is largely dependent on the activities of 
these plants that are able to take the free nitrogen of the 
air and build it into their bodies, and when they die leave 
the nitrogen in combinations that are useful to other 
plants. Animals get their nitrogen from these other 
plants. 

Combined nitrogen in nature. When hghtning flashes, 
a very small quantity of atmospheric nitrogen is caused 
to unite chemically with oxygen, forming nitrous oxid 



How Plants Live 147 

gas. This gas has a peculiar odor that is noticeable 
about electric machines, and may sometimes be observed 
for a few moments when a flash of lightning strikes 
near by. At the same time a small quantity of ammonia 
gas (NH3) is formed, the hydrogen being obtained 'from 
water vapor in the air. 

Both these gases are soluble in water. Hence rain 
washes them down into the soil. There certain bacteria 
convert them into nitrates. In nitrates N is always 
combined with oxygen in the proportion shown in the 
formula NO3. But the attractions of the atoms in 
this combination are not all satisfied ; hence there is 
no substance with this formula. The NO3 must have 
something to unite with. The element calcium, found 
in lime, limestone, etc., serves well for this purpose. 
With NO3 it forms calcium nitrate, Ca(N03)2. Or the 
NO3 may unite with potassium, forming potassium 
nitrate, KNO3 ; or with sodium, forming sodium ni- 
trate, NaNOs. These nitrates are all soluble in water, 
and plants can use the nitrogen in any of them. 

Sodium nitrate occurs in large quantities in the soil 
of certain localities in Chili, from which it is removed 
and sold as a fertilizer under the name " Chili salt- 
peter." Potassium nitrate, which is the true saltpeter, 
occurs in small quantities in several places, but nowhere 
in paying amounts. The nitrates in these deposits 
are believed to have originated from organic materials 
containing nitrogen. They occur only in very dry 
regions. They are so soluble in water that they would 
be washed out of the soil in regions where much rain 
falls. 



148 



Farm Science 




Fig. 7g. Seed pod of a legume 



Nitrogen-fixing bacteria. By far the most important 
supply of nitrogen in a form useful to ordinary plants 

is due to the work of certain 
kinds of very small organisms 
found in the soil. These little 
beings belong to a great group 
of organisms known as bacteria. 
There are two (possibly 
more) very different kinds of 
these bacteria that can take in 
the free (uncombined) nitrogen 
of the air and build it into 
their substance. They thus 
manufacture nitrogen com- 
(pea pod). Alfalfa seed pod in pQu^ds that Ordinary plants 

upper left-hand corner. The '■ 

structure of the two kinds of pods Can USC aS food. ThcSC little 

is the same, except that the alfalfa plants (bactcria) are absolutcly 

pod is twisted. • t i j- 

mdispensable to the larmer. 
They are among the best friends he has in nature. The 
two distinct kinds are treated below. 

Legume bacteria. There is a large and important 
family of plants known as legumes. Peas, beans, clover, 
alfalfa, and vetches all belong to this family. They all 
have this characteristic in common, that their seeds 
are borne in a pod which consists of two " valves," or 
halves which split apart more or less readily. The pea 
pod is a good example (Fig. 79). Most of the plants of 
this family, including all those named above, have the 
so-called butterfly-shaped flowers, of which the pea 
blossom is a good example (Fig. 80). 

This entire family of plants have the remarkable 



How Plants Live 



149 




characteristic of harboring in their roots a little parasite 

that is not only not harmful to them, but is highly useful. 

This parasite is nothing more 

or less than one of the two 

kinds of bacteria that are 

known to be able to use free 

nitrogen. Their natural home 

is in the soil. But when a 

legume seedling throws out 

root hairs into the soil, if the 

proper variety of this kind of 

bacteria is present they break 

through the walls of the root 

hairs and thus gain entrance 

into the roots of the plant. ^^^ go. Blossom of a legume 
There they grow and multiply, (pea blossom). The upper petal 

At the point where they lodge ^' '^' "banner "the two middle 

'■ JO ones are the wmgs, while the 

a kind of wart, or gall, forms two lower petals are united along 

on the root. These are the *^"'' ^""^^^ ^^^^ *° ^°™ ^^^ 

"keel," so called from its resem- 
tubercles found on the blance to the keel of a boat. The 

roots of all legumes when P'*^'1 ^^"^ stamens are closed in 
., . . , the keel. 

grown on a soil contammg the 

proper variety of bacteria (Fig. 81). The student should 
examine the roots of all kinds of legumes for these 
tubercles. Generally speaking, they are about as large 
as the seeds of the plant on which they grow. 

Though all these legume bacteria are very similar, 
and all belong to one group, they are not exactly alike. 
As a rule, those that grow best in the roots of one kind 
of legume will grow only poorly or not at all in those 
of another kind, though there are some exceptions to 



ISO 



Farm Science 




this statement. The bac- 
teria of sweet clover, for 
instance, will grow readily in 
the roots of alfalfa. 

Soil inoculation. When 
we sow any kind of legume, 
we should be sure that the 
soil of the field contains the 
kind of bacteria which that 
particular legume needs. If 
it does not, the crop will not 
thrive. Unless we are sure 
they are present we must 
add them to the soil, or to 
the seed before sowing. This 
addition of bacteria to the 
soil or to the seed is called 
inoculation. It may be accomplished in several ways. 
Common practice is to add to each acre a few hundred 
pounds of dirt from a field known to be inoculated, 
because it has recently produced a healthy crop of the 
legume in question. Farmers learned the value of this 
practice long before they knew its reason. Pure cultures 
of the proper bacteria may also be applied to the seed. 
How legumes and these bacteria exchange labor. 
The reason the bacteria enter the roots of the legumes 
is because they like the particular brand of starch they 
find there. Since they have a great abundance of N 
available to them in the soil air, they manufacture a 
great abundance of nitrogen compounds, — more in 
fact than they need. The legumes tolerate these in- 



Ice of Farm Management 
(G. A. Billings) 
Fig. 8i. Tubercles on the roots 
of a soy bean plant. These are 
caused by the presence in the root 
of the bacteria that assimilate 
nitrogen from the air. 



How Plants Live 151 

truders, and furnish them starch, because they can get 
nitrogen compounds from them. 

Other nitrogen-fixing organisms. At least one other 
kind of bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen. (By 
" fixing " nitrogen is meant combining it chemically 
with other elements.) They live in the soil, but they 
have never formed the habit of invading the roots of 
plants. They live partly on soluble organic matter. 
When well fed, as they are in soil rich in humus, they 
fix considerable quantities of nitrogen and leave it in 
a form available to crops. We do not know much about 
these very useful bacteria. They were discovered 
only a few years ago. They may prove to be even more 
important as a source of combined nitrogen than we 
now suspect. There are also certain fungi that have 
the power of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Not much 
is known about them. 

Organic nitrogen. While all the nitrogen now in 
plants and animals came originally from the air by the 
ways outlined above, growing crops get a great deal 
of their nitrogen from the decaying organic matter in 
the soil. This is especially true if the soil is rich in 
organic matter. The roots, stems, and leaves of legumes, 
because of the ease with which they get nitrogen com- 
pounds from the bacteria in their roots, become very 
rich in this element. The roots of a leguminous crop 
decaying in the soil furnish much nitrogen to the suc- 
ceeding crop. If the land is greatly in need of nitrogen, 
it sometimes pays to plow under a legume crop to en- 
rich the soil in this important element. Legumes can 
grow in a soil having little or no nitrogen in it, provided 



152 Farm Science 

they are properly inoculated, but other crops cannot 
do this. We must supply nitrogen to them in some way. 
It sometimes pays to use a little nitrogen fertilizer, even 
on a legume, to furnish nitrogen to the young plants before 
they become thoroughly inoculated. If not inoculated, 
they need nitrogen even more than do other crops. 

How nitrogen is supplied to crops. Nitrogen may be 
supplied to crops in a form available to them by applying 
manure, which is usually rich in nitrogen, by growing 
legumes, especially by turning under leguminous crops, 
by adding nitrate fertilizers, or by adding to the soil 
any kind of organic matter that may serve as food for 
nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 

SUMMARY 

The various chemical elements required by plants, 
with the sources from which obtained, are as follows : 

From the air : 

Carbon, from CO2 in the air, absorbed by the leaves and 
other green parts of the plant. 

Nitrogen, directly or indirectly, entirely from the nitro- 
gen of the air ; directly from the air by certain bac- 
teria ; by legumes, from certain kinds of bacteria, 
which originally obtained it from the air ; by other 
plants, and to some extent by legumes, from decaying 
organic matter in the soil, from fertilizers, or from 
nitrogen compounds brought down by rain, and taken 
in, mostly in the form of nitrates, in solution in water 
obtained from the soil. All from the air originally. 

Oxygen, directly from the air; used in breathing, and 
returned to the air in CO2. Absorbed by all growing 
parts of the plant. 



How Plants Live 



153 



From water : 

Taken in as water by root hairs in the soil. 
Some of this water is decomposed in the 
plant, and the hydrogen and oxygen of 
which it consists are used in building up 
various compounds constituting a part of 
the dry matter of plants. Some of the 
water remains in the plant cells as water. 
By far the greater portion of the water ab- 
sorbed from the soil evaporates at the leaves. 



Hydrogen 
Oxygen 



From the soil : 

Potassium Phosphorus 
Calcium Sulfur 

Magnesium 
Iron 



Taken in in solution in the soil 
water. Obtained from rock 
particles, from decaying or- 
ganic matter, or from fer- 
tihzers. All from the rock 
particles of the soil originally. 



Things to Observe 

Winter annuals. In the fall or early winter, or at any 
time during the winter when the ground is bare, look in fields 
and by roadsides for the rosettes of young leaves of which 
the above-ground parts of winter annuals consist at that 
time. 

Root hairs. Dig out young growing plants carefully and 
observe the numerous fine hairlike threads projecting from 
the roots near their tips. Root hairs occur near the tips of 
nearly all growing roots. Their business is to absorb water 
and plant food materials from the soil. 

Legumes. Study the structure of the flowers and seed 
pods of all the leguminous plants available, such as peas, 
beans, cowpeas, alfalfa, clover, sweet clover, etc. Note 
how the seeds are arranged in the pod. Compare with other 
seed pods. 



154 Farm Science 

Root tubercles. Carefully dig up all kinds of leguminous 
plants during their growing period and note the tubercles on 
their roots. These are due to the presence of nitrogen-fixing 
bacteria in the roots. 

Experiment 

Put a tablespoonful of common baking soda in a glass 
fruit jar and pour over it a half cupful of strong vinegar. 
The bubbles are due to the formation of CO2 gas, which soon 
fills the jar. Hold a blazing splinter in this gas inside the 
jar. Fire burns only when free oxygen is present ; it cannot 
use the oxygen in CO2 gas. What happens to the fire in this 
experiment ? 



CHAPTER TEN 

FERTILIZERS 

Plant food elements likely to be deficient in the soil. 

Of the ten chemical elements required by growing plants 
nitrogen is by far the most likely to be deficient. It 
comes originally only from the air. But our common 
crops can use it only in certain chemical combinations, 
nitrates being most acceptable. Nitrates are quite 
soluble, and easily wash out of the soil when it rains. 
There are also bacteria of at least one kind that decom- 
pose nitrates if at the same time they can have plenty of 
substances like starch, sugar, and cellulose as food. Cellu- 
lose, like starch and sugar, is a compound of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen. It is the substance of which 
the cell walls of plants are built. These substances are 
plentiful in straw and in fresh manure, especially where 
straw is used for bedding. By allowing the manure to 
ferment a few weeks, or by mixing stubble with the 
surface soil in the fall, we get rid of the materials these 
nitrate destroyers live on, and thus save nitrogen for the 
crop next year. A careless farmer can easily let his 
lands become badly deficient in nitrogen. 

The only other elements that are not ordinarily abun- 
dant, either in air or water or the soil, are potassium and 
phosphorus. 

Phosphorus is deficient in many soils. Its original 
source is a single kind of mineral, small grains of which 
occur in practically all soils, but sometimes in very Small 
quantity. Although nitrogen is much more likely to 
be deficient than phosphorus, phosphorus fertilizers are 
more used than all other kinds together. This is be- 

155 



150 Farm Science 

cause nitrogen can be supplied in so many other ways, 
especially by growing legumes. Nitrogen fertilizers are 
also very expensive, while those containing phosphorus 
are the cheapest of all. 

Potassium occurs in many kinds of rock particles in 
the soil, and is not often deficient in heavy soils such as 
clays, clay loams, silt loams, etc. But sandy soils and 
muck soils are quite generally deficient in this element, 
at least in forms available to plants. Potash fertilizers 
— that is, those containing potassium — are much more 
generally used on sandy and on muck soils than on 
heavier soils. 

Calcium. While most soils contain plenty of calcium 
so far as the need of it as plant food is concerned, many 
soils need lime, which contains this element, for other 
reasons. (See page 113.) This element is therefore 
frequently applied to the soil in lime, ground limestone, 
or other compounds containing calcium. 

Sulfur. Some recent experiments have given very 
good results from the use of sulfur, or some of its com- 
pounds, as a fertilizer. We do not yet know just what 
this means. Perhaps some soils are deficient in this 
element in available forms. This may possibly account 
in part for the fact that gypsum, or land plaster (CaS04), 
before it became too high priced, was widely used on 
farm land. It is often highly beneficial, but it has gen- 
erally been supposed that this was due to the calcium it 
contains. 

Magnesium has been used to a slight extent in fer- 
tilizers, but it is usually present in the soil in ample 
quantity. The remaining elements are always available 



Fertilizers 157 

to plants in superabundance, carbon in the CO2 of the 
air, hydrogen in water, oxygen in air and water, and 
iron in various compounds in the soil. 

SOME COMMON FERTILIZER TERMS AND THEIR 
MEANING 

Ammonia. Fertilizers containing nitrogen are often 
referred to as containing ammonia, a substance having 
the formula NH3. When we speak of the amount of 
" ammonia " a fertilizer contains, we simply mean the 
amount of ammonia that could be made from the nitro- 
gen the fertilizer contains. This use of the term " am- 
monia " arose from the fact that ammonium sulfate, 
(NH4)2S04, and ammonium chlorid, NH4CI, are fre- 
quently used as fertilizers, for the nitrogen they contain. 

Guano. In many parts of the world sea birds nest on 
cliffs facing the sea. Their manure collects in large 
quantities at the base of these cliffs. It is called 
"guano" (pronounced gwano — a as in "arm"), a 
Peruvian word meaning manure. This material was 
formerly much used as a fertilizer, being obtained mostly 
from the coast of Peru and from certain islands in the 
Pacific Ocean. The supply is now exhausted. In some 
localities, where it was once the only fertilizer used, all 
fertilizers are now called guano, but more especially 
those containing nitrogen. 

Phosphate, acid phosphate, phosphoric acid, floats. 
The common source of fertilizers containing phosphorus 
is a soft rock found in large quantities in certain locaUties 
along the South Atlantic coast of the United States, in 
parts of Tennessee, and to some extent elsewhere. This 



158 Farm Science 

rock contains a considerable quantity of a compound 
known as calcium phosphate. It also contains varying 
quantities of limestone. Floats are simply this rock 
ground up into a fine powder. The rock itself is usually 
referred to as phosphate rock. When the ground-up 
rock is mixed with sulfuric acid, a reaction occurs pro- 
ducing, among other things, a phosphorus compound 
more or less soluble in water, thus making the phos- 
phorus " available." In this form the material is called 
acid phosphate. This is the most widely used of all 
fertilizers containing phosphorus.. 

The term " phosphate " is loosely used to mean any 
fertihzer containing phosphorus, but its proper use is 
limited to compounds containing only the combination 
PO4. Thus, calcium phosphate is Ca3(P04)2. 

When fertilizers first came into use (about a hundred 
years ago), the name " phosphoric acid " was at that 
time used for the substance whose formula is P2O5. 
It is now applied to a different substance, but the old 
usage has continued in the fertilizer trade. When we 
speak of the amount of phosphoric acid a fertilizer con- 
tains, we merely mean the amount of P2O5 that could 
be made from the phosphorus present. 

Potash. Real potash has the formula K2O, but any 
fertilizer containing the element potassium is called a 
potash fertilizer. It is common practice in stating the 
composition of fertilizers to give, not the amount of 
potassium present, but the amount of potash that could 
be made from this potassium. 

Fertilizer formulas. In many parts of the country it 
is the common practice to use fertilizers containing all 



Fertilizers 1 59 

three of the elements : nitrogen (N) , phosphorus (P) , 
and potassium (K). Such a fertilizer is called a com- 
plete fertilizer, because it contains all the chemical ele- 
ments ordinarily used as fertilizers. In stating the com- 
position of a complete fertilizer, use is made of formulas 
such as 2 8 3, 4 10 6, etc. The first of these formulas 
means that the fertilizer contains 2 per cent of nitrogen, 
enough phosphorus to make 8 per cent of phosphoric 
acid (P2O5), and enough potassium to make 3 per cent 
of potash (K2O) ; or, loosely, 2 per cent of nitrogen, 
8 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 3 per cent of 
potash. 

In some of the South Atlantic states the percentage 
of phosphoric acid is given first, that of nitrogen second, 
and that of potash third. This very confusing practice 
should be abandoned in favor of the more widely used 
form given above. 

SUBSTANCES USED AS FERTILIZERS 
Nitrogen fertilizers. 

Sodium nitrate, or Chili saltpeter, about i6 per cent of N 

Ammonium sulfate about 20 per cent of N 

Cyanamid about 16 per cent of N 

Cottonseed meal about 7 per cent of N 

Dried blood 6 to 13 per cent of N 

Ground fish about 8 per cent of N 

Tankage 4 to 1 2 per cent of N 

Leather and waste wool and hair are sometimes used 
in fertilizers by unscrupulous manufacturers, but the 
nitrogen in them is practically v/orthless because these 
substances decay so slowly. 



i6o Farm Science 

Phosphate fertilizers. 

Acid phosphate 12 to 18 per cent of P2O6 

Phosphate rock (as floats) 

South Carolina 26 to 28 per cent of P2O5 

Florida 18 to 40 per cent of P2O6 

Tennessee 30 to 35 per cent of P2O5 

Bone meal, raw 22 per cent of P2O5 (Also contains 4.0 

per cent of nitrogen.) 
Bone meal, steamed 28 to 30 per cent of P2O5 (Also contains 1.5 

per cent of nitrogen.) 
Bone tankage 7 to 9 per cent of P2O5 

Thomas slag (basic slag) about 18 per cent of P2O6. 

Potash fertilizers. 

Kainit 12 to 20 per cent of K2O 

Potassium chlorid 5° per cent of K2O 

Potassium sulfate (high grade) 48 to 50 per cent of K2O 

Wood ashes, unleached S to 6 ; also 2.0 per cent P0O5 

and 29 per cent lime. 
Wood ashes, leached i; also 1.5 per cent P2O6 

and 28 to 29 per cent lime. 

The first three of these substances are obtained from 
mines in Germany. The chlorin in the first two is in- 
jurious to tobacco, sugar beets, and potatoes. These 
two, as well as wood ashes, are injurious to seeds if they 
come in contact with them. They should be mixed with 
the soil sometime before the seeds are planted. 

Kinds and amounts of fertilizers to use. The kinds 
and amounts of fertilizers to use in any given case de- 
pend on the character of the crop, the kind of soil and 
its previous treatment, the cost of fertilizing materials, 
and the value of the crop to be grown. Some sugges- 
tions were made on this subject in the part of this book 
devoted to soils, but it is evident that correct fertihzer 



Fertilizers i6i 

practice is largely a matter to be worked out by the farm- 
ers in each locality. The subject is too complex and 
difficult for full treatment in an elementary work of this 
kind. There are many books devoted especially to 
soils and fertilizers, some of which the student is expected 
to study later in his course. 

Problem 

In what proportion should sodium nitrate (i6 per cent N), acid 
phosphate (14 per cent PoOs), and kainit (20 per cent K2O) be mixed 
to give a fertilizer containing 3 parts N, 8 parts P2O5, and 5 parts K2O ? 

Hint. A ton of 16 per cent sodium nitrate contains 320 lbs. N. 

A ton of 14 per cent acid phosphate contains 280 lbs. P2O5. 

A ton of 20 per cent kainit contains 400 lbs. K2O. 

3 lbs. N2 are contained in ^§^ ton of sodium nitrate. 

8 lbs. P2O are contained in jfo ton of acid phosphate, etc. 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 

PLANT PROPAGATION 

Plant propagation means the production of new 
plants from old ones. Plants have several methods of 
producing offspring, and man has invented several other 
ways of multiplying certain of the plants that he grows. 
All these methods will be considered briefly here. 



PROPAGATION FROM SEED 

Most kinds of plants are propagated from seed. It is 
well worth our while to learn how seeds are produced. 

Parts of a flower. While flowers differ greatly in 
their structure, there is a general pattern to which most 
kinds conform. This is shown in Figure 82, in which 
each part of a typical, complete flowxr is named. The 
outermost circle of leaves constitutes the calyx. The 

individual leaves of the calyx 
are called sepals. The sepals 
of most flowers are green in 
color hke ordinary leaves. 
Their principal office is to 
protect the inner, more ten- 
der parts before the blossom 
opens. They form the outer 
layer of the flower bud. 
Just inside the circle of 
sepals is another circle of 
much modified leaves called 
petals. They are usually 
white, purple, red, blue, or 
yellow, though other colors 
162 




Fig. 82. Parts of a typical flower. 
a, sepals. These are usually green, 
like ordinary leaves. b, petals, 
usually white, red, blue, purple, or 
yellow, c, stamens, consisting of 
filament or stem, and anther. The 
anther contains the pollen, d, pistil, 
consisting of the ovary (enlarged 
basal portion), style (the slender 
neck), and stigma, usually at the top 
of the style. The ovary contains the 
ovules, which, fertilized by the pollen, 
develop into seeds. 



Plant Propagation 



163 




glumes, which are the 
chaff from threshed 
grain. Grass flowers 
usually have three sta- 



occur. The petals taken together constitute the corolla. 
Their principal office is to attract insects. The reason 
for this will appear later. Many kinds 
of flowers have no petals. In some 
both petals and sepals are colored. 
In grasses, the petals and sepals are 
replaced by "glumes," which consti- 
tute the chaff when the seeds are 
threshed out. Figure 83 shows the 
structure of a typical grass flower. 
Wheat and oats belong to the grass grass flower. Here the 
family. Examine their flowers and place of sepals and 

. r • 1 . • r . 1 • j^ petals is taken by 

see if you can identify their parts as 
shown in the figure. 

Inside the circle of petals is a row 
of slender, clublike organs called sta- mens and a pistil simi 
mens. Since these are very important !f ' ^° ^'^°*'^ °^ °''^^''=''^ 

flowers. 

in the production of seed, we must 
study them closely. In preparing this lesson you will, 
of course, study many kinds of flowers for the purpose 
of identifying the parts here described. 

A stamen consists of two parts, a stem, called the 
filament, and an enlargement at the end of the stem called 
the anther. The whole stamen is a much modified leaf. 
The filament is the stem and the anther the blade, or flat 
portion, of the leaf. When fully mature the anther 
splits open, usually at its two edges, and a very fine- 
grained yellow powder falls out. This powder is ex- 
tremely important ; it is called pollen. You may have 
noticed the yellow powder that gets on your clothes 
when going through a cornfield when the corn is in silk. 



164 Farm Science 

This is the pollen of the corn plant. Look for pollen 
in all the flowers you find. 

Lastly, in the center of the flower is the pistil. It 
stands there somewhat like a pestle in a mortar, which 
you can see in any drugstore. Its name is a modifica- 
tion of the Latin word for pestle. The pistil is the most 
important part of the flower, because it later becomes the 
seed pod. Find the pistil in as many flowers as you can. 
Some flowers have more than one. 

In examining flowers, especially in the fall of the year, 
you will find many kinds that will puzzle you, for they 
will appear not to be constructed on the pattern here 
described. One of the largest and most common families 
of flowering plants has its flowers bunched together 
in a head that looks very much like a single flower. 
This is the family to which the sunflower and the aster 
belong. Pick one of these flower heads to pieces and 
see if you can make out the individual flowers of which 
it consists. 

The pistil ordinarily consists of three parts. The 
lower part, which is usually somewhat enlarged, and 
which will later contain the seeds, is the ovary. The 
slender neck extending upward from the ovary is the 
style. At the end of the style, or sometimes along the 
side of it, there is always an area over which there is no 
skin, or epidermis, although every other part of the 
plant has such a protective covering. This area with 
no skin to cover it is called the stigma, a Greek word 
meaning '' wound." 

The stigma in many kinds of flowers is on a knob at 
the top of the style. In some kinds the upper part of 



Plant Propagation 



165 




the style is branched. In the wheat flower it is much 
branched, presenting a beautiful feathery appearance. 
In the corn plant the threads of the 
silk are the styles. The stigma in 
this case occupies a narrow strip down 
the side of the style. 

Structure of the ovary. Figure 84 
shows an ovary split lengthwise to 
show its structure. Inside is a cavity 
in which are seen a number of small, 
round objects that are later to grow 
into seeds. They are the ovules. They 
are attached by short stalks to the 
walls of the ovary. Their number ^ „ . 

•^ . Fig. 84. An ovary sput 

varies in different kinds of plants, lengthwise to show the 

method of fertilization 
of the ovules. Pollen 
grains Ught on the 
stigma, and send their 
tubes down into the 
substance of the ovary. 

already been stated that every living The tip of the tube 

11 r • 1 • .• enters an opening in 

cell arose from a previously existmg ^, , ■ ,. 

tr J o the ovule, where the 

cell by a process known as cell division. 
The first step in cell division is the 
division of the nucleus. This division 
of the nucleus may occur in two ways, develops into the em- 

. bryo of the seed. 

The chromatm of the nucleus con- 
sists of a number of very small but definite bodies. In 
ordinary cell division, each of these chromatin bodies 
divides, so that each of the new cells formed is supplied 
with its share of every chromatin body found in the old 
nucleus. 



some kinds having only one, while 
others have a large number in each 
ovary. 

Fertilization of the ovules. It has 



nucleus from the pollen 
tube unites with that 
of the germ cell in the 
ovary. This cell then 



i66 Farm Science 

The cells which are to take part in seed formation are 
called germ cells. In the production of germ cells, there 
occurs one cell division in which the chromatin bodies 
do not divide. Instead, half of them go into one of the 
new cells, the other half going into the other. A germ 
cell, therefore, has only half of a true nucleus. 

Pollen grains are germ cells. There is also a germ 
cell in each ovule. An ovule cannot develop into a seed 
until its germ cell has been supplied with the half nucleus 
it lacks. It obtains this missing part of its nucleus 
from a pollen grain. The ingenious method by which 
this is accomplished is as follows : 

At just the right time a sticky juice appears on the 
stigma. A pollen grain, falling on this, sticks fast, ab- 
sorbs a portion of the juice, and begins to grow. It 
sends out a tiny thread much like a root hair, described 
in a previous chapter. This thread is the pollen tube. 
The half nucleus of the pollen grain passes down inside 
this tube, and is always found at or near the end of it. 

As the pollen tube grows it works its way down into 
the substance of the ovary, just as a root hair threads 
its way through the soil. Finally the tip of it finds in 
an ovule a small opening which is provided for this pur- 
pose (Fig. 84). These pollen tubes are too small to be 
seen by the naked eye, but in the drawing they are en- 
larged to show their behavior. They do not always come 
out into the cavity of the ovary, as shown in the figure, 
but grow down in the walls till they reach the ovules. 

Now the germ cell of the ovule is situated just inside 
the opening which the pollen tube finds in the ovule. 
When the tube comes in contact with this cell, the end 



Plant Propagation 167 

of the tube and the cell wall dissolve away at the point 
of contact, and the half nucleus of the pollen grain passes 
into the cell. The germ cell of the ovule is now provided 
with an entire nucleus, and is able to grow. This union 
of two half nuclei is called fertilization of the ovule. 
Soon after fertilization occurs, the fertilized cell divides, 
thus becoming two cells. These grow rapidly to full 
size and divide again. This growth and division con- 
tinue till a mature seed is produced. 

A few kinds of plants produce seeds without this elab- 
orate process of fertilization, but they need not concern 
us here. 

One cannot help wondering why nature ever developed 
so complex a process for producing seeds, but this is a 
question which belongs to the science of plant physiology, 
and we cannot here enter upon its discussion. 

Some common modifications of flowers. A peculiar- 
ity of the flowers of the sunflower family has already 
been mentioned (page 164) . Very few kinds of flowers are 
as simple in structure as the ideal one shown in Figure 
82. In peaches, plums, and cherries, the sepals, petals, 
and stamens are united at the base into a kind of cup, 
in the center of which stands the pistil, which later 
develops into the fruit. In the apple blossom the in- 
side of this cup is grown to the ovary, so that all of the 
pistil that is visible is the branches of the style, with the 
stigmas at the end of them. 

In " double " flowers, part or all of the stamens are 
changed into petals. In some kinds even the pistil is 
thus changed. Such flowers, of course, produce no seed, 
though if the pistil is unchanged they may produce seed 



i6S 



Farm Science 




Corn Investigaiions, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. 8s. Tassel of a cornstalk, cov- 
ered with flowers that bear only 
stamens, the pistils being aborted. 



if pollen is brought from 
" single " flowers of the 
same species. 

The corn plant bears 
flowers in two places, on 
the cob and on the tassel. 
The flowers on the tassel 
(Fig. 85) bear only stamens, 
as the pistils in these flowers 
are aborted. Those on the 
cob have pistils only, the 
stamens being aborted. 
The threads of the silk 
(Fig. 86) are the styles, and 
each thread has a long stigma running down one side 
of it. The pollen grains fall on these stigmas, and 
their tubes grow down in the substance of the silks to 
the ovaries at the bases of the silks. If the wind is 
blowing a great deal when the pollen is falling, the 
various ovules on a cob may be fertilized by pollen 
from many neighboring stalks. Ears of corn that grow 
on the side of the field from which the wind blows at 
this time may fail to receive pollen grains on some of 
their silks, and thus fail to fill out properly. Look for 
ears on the west side of a field of corn that have vacant 
spaces among their grains due to this cause. It is not 
always possible to find such ears, for the wind may not 
have been blowing much when the pollen was falling. 

Self- and cross-fertilization. When an ovule is fer- 
tilized by pollen from the same plant that bears the 
ovule, it is said to be self -fertilized. When the pollen 



Plant Propagation 



169 




comes from another plant, 
the ovule is said to be 
cross-fertilized. Wheat and 
oats are generally self- 
fertilized ; corn and all 
kinds of fruits are quite 
generally cross-fertilized. 
Corn depends on the wind 
to carry pollen from one 
plant to another ; fruits, 
and many other kinds of 
plants, depend on insects 
to do this. Some kinds of 
plants will not even produce 
seed unless they are cross- 
fertilized. Others produce 
readily when self-fertilized. 
Some kinds of fruits require 
cross-fertilization, and 
many kinds produce larger fruits if cross-fertilized. 

We can now understand why so many flowers are 
bright colored and showy. The primary object of this 
showiness is to attract insects. Such flowers produce 
nectar in order to reward insects for visiting them and 
thus bringing them pollen from other flowers. It is 
not sufficient that the insect bring pollen from any kind 
of plant ; it must be from the same kind of plant or 
from a nearly related kind. Hence insects have de- 
veloped the instinct of visiting flowers of the same kind 
one after the other, rather than visiting any and all 
kinds promiscuously. It must not be supposed, how- 



Corn Investigations, U . S. D. A. 
Fig. 86. An ear of corn in silk. 
The strands of the silk are the styles 
of the flowers on the cob. The 
stigmas extend down the sides of the 
threads of the silk. The stamens in 
the flowers on this part do not develop. 



lyo Farm Science 

ever, that every plant having brilliant flowers requires 
cross-fertilization, or is regularly cross-fertiHzed. Per- 
haps at some time in the past such flowers did require 
cross-fertilization, but many of them are now regularly 
self-fertilized. 

Hybrids. When the pollen that fertilizes a given ovule 
comes from a plant which possesses different hereditary 
characters from those of the plant bearing the ovule, the 
resulting seed is said to be hybrid. The term cross-bred 
has about the same meaning, but is usually applied to 
cases in which the difference between the parents is not 
very great, while the term hybrid is used for cases in 
which it is more or less marked. But there is no sharp 
line of distinction in the use of the two terms. 

Hybrid individuals do not ordinarily breed true to 
type ; that is, their offspring are usually not all like them, 
and not even like each other. Thus, if a bean having 
red seeds be crossed with one having white seeds, the 
resulting hybrids will have red seeds ; but when these 
hybrid red seeds are planted, some of the plants that 
grow from them will have white seeds. You will learn 
the reason for this when you study biology. 

Fruits are generally cross-fertilized, for which reason 
most of them are very complex hybrids, and when the 
seed is planted nearly every seed produces a different 
kind of fruit. This is the reason that fruits are generally 
propagated by some artificial method rather than from 
seed. These artificial methods will be discussed later. 

Structure of seeds. Seeds usually have a thick outer 
and a thin inner coat. In some kinds the outer coat is 
hard and woody, as in the walnut. In others it is thin 



Plant Propagation 171 

and not woody, as in the bean. The inner coat is 
usually thin and papery. In corn and wheat, and many 
other kinds of seeds, the two coats are firmly grown to 
the inner portion of the seed. In barley the outer husk 
is really not a part of the seed ; it is a glume that adheres 
to the seed. It corresponds to a petal of ordinary flowers. 

Study the structure of a number of different kinds of 
seeds. This can best be done by soaking the seeds in 
water till they are soft. Several kinds should be ger- 
minated in order to see what each part of the seed de- 
velops into as the young plant begins to grow. Study 
particularly a bean or pea as compared with a grain of 
corn. All seeds have more or less food stored in them 
for the use of the germinating plantlet till it has its own 
leaves and roots and is thus able to get its food from the 
air and the soil. 

When the seed coats are removed from a bean or pea, 
what is left is nothing but a young bean or pea plant. 
The bulk of this little plant consists of the first two leaves 
of the vine, very much swollen with stored food, and not 
at all the shape of ordinary leaves. These make up the 
two " halves " of the seed. They are entirely separate 
from each other except at one end, where their stalks 
are attached to the very short stem. Lying between 
these two fat leaves is a pair of very small beginnings of 
leaves. When the bean seed sprouts, both the big fat 
seed leaves and the pair of tiny leaves between them come 
above ground and turn green. In the pea the first 
pair do not come above ground, for they are so mis- 
shapen that they would be of little use as real leaves. 
The little plant in a seed is called the embryo, or germ. 



172 



Farm Science 



In corn, as well as in wheat, oats, and many other 
kinds of seeds, part of the food is stored outside of the 
embryo, forming what is known as the endosperm. By 
soaking a grain of corn till it is soft, the germ, or em- 
bryo, may easily be separated from the endosperm. 

Corn, wheat, oats, rye, and barley belong to the Grass 
Family. In this family of plants the embryo has one 
large leaf-rudiment, with a very small second one just 
visible about the middle of the large one. The beginning 
of the root also can be seen. 



OTHER NATURAL MEANS OF PROPAGATION 

The most common method of propagation in plants 
is, of course, from seeds. But many kinds of plants 
have other methods. The banana plant, for instance, 
has forgotten how to make seed, and is propagated en- 
tirely from sprouts that come up about the base of 




Fig. 87. Sprouts coming up from the roots of a raspberry bush. When these 
are one year old, the old stalks are cut away, and the ensuing season the yearling 
sprouts bear fruit. 



Plant Propagation 



173 




Office of Farm Management {J. S. Cates) 
Fig. 88. The "sets" of wild garlic. They grow in place of flowers at the top 
of the stem. When mature they fall off, and soon take root and grow into new 
plants. 

old plants. A brief discussion follows of methods of 
propagation other than from seeds. 

Sprouts. Sprouts are new stems that arise from the 
underground parts of plants or from the main stem near 
or at its base. They are sometimes called suckers, 
though this latter term is also applied to branches of the 
main stem at any point where such branches are not 
desired. Thus, the tobacco plant produces suckers just 
above each leaf, which must be removed if a good quality 
of tobacco is to be grown. 

Irish potato vines develop from sprouts that arise 
from the " eyes " of the tubers used as seed. These 
eyes are merely the buds on the tubers. By examining 
a potato it will be seen that the eyes are arranged ac- 
cording to a definite plan, just as the buds on trees are, 
though the plan of arrangement may be different. 

Sweet potato vines develop from sprouts that arise 



174 



Farm Science 



from the enlarged roots when 
these are buried in warm soil. 
In this case the sprouts may 
come from any point on the 
surface of the potato. This 
is true of all roots that pro- 
duce sprouts. 

Johnson grass and quack 
grass, which produce long 
underground stems, or root- 
stocks, send up sprouts from 
the buds found at the joints 
of the underground stems. 
This is the reason why these 
grasses are so hard to kill. 
They also produce seed 
abundantly. 

Blackberries, raspberries, 
and gooseberries are often 
propagated from sprouts that 
come up about the base of the 
old stems (Fig. 87, page 172). 
Sets. In some kinds of 
onions part or all the flowers 
may be replaced by buds with thick, fleshy leaves. 
These buds are called sets. Some varieties of onions 
are regularly propagated from sets. Wild garlic also 
produces sets (Fig. 88, page 173). 

Bulbs. Onions and many other kinds of plants, es- 
peciafly of the lily family, produce bulbs. (See page 126.) 
Certain biennial plants, including onions, produce bulbs 




OJice of Farm Management 
(J. S. Cates) 
Fig. 89. Bulbs of wild garlic. 
They are contained in the old 
bulb of the previous year, the 
layers of which have been re- 
moved to show the newly formed 
bulbs. 



Plant Propagation 



175 



the first year from seed, but do not produce seed that year. 
If the bulbs are saved over and planted, the plants 
which grow from these bulbs produce seed again. Other 
bulb-producing plants form new bulbs at the base of the 
stems which grow from the old bulbs. The variety of 
onions known as " multipliers " does this. Wild garlic, a 
winter annual, also produces bulbs in this manner (Fig. 89) , 
in addition to the sets which grow at the top of the stem. 
Runners. The strawberry plant sends out runners, 
or vines which run along on the ground and take root 
at each joint (Fig. 90). When the roots at a joint be- 
come well estabhshed, a new plant arises from the bud 
at this joint. These new plants are dug up and set out 
as needed. Strawberries also produce seed, but they 
are not ordinarily used for planting, because the fruit 
of strawberry plants grown from seed will not usually 
be of the same kind as that of the plants which bore the 
seed. The reason for this is that practically all straw- 
berries are hybrids. Many other plants reproduce by 
runners. Bermuda grass is an example. 




Fig. 90. 



Bortkultiiral Investigations, U. S. D. A. 
Runners of the strawberry plant. A new plant grows at each joint of 



the runner. The new plants are then dug up and set out where needed. 



176 



Farm Science 



ARTIFICIAL MEANS OF PROPAGATION 

The means of propagation discussed above are those 
used naturally by plants. Man has also invented several 
means of obtaining new plants from old ones. All of 
these artificial means consist of cutting off part of the 
plant from which new plants are desired and then of 
inducing the cut-off part to grow. The various ways 
differ mainly in the methods used for insuring this 
growth. 

Layering. We have seen how strawberry plants 
produce runners which take root at the joints and send 
up new plants from the buds at these joints. By bend- 
ing down the branches of many kinds of plants till they 
are in contact with the soil, especially by covering a 
portion of the branch with soil, leaving the tip of the 
branch uncovered, the covered portion will throw out 
roots. When thus established the branch 
may be cut between the new roots and the 
main stem, thus giving a new plant no 
longer dependent on the old one. Black- 
berries, raspberries, apples, quinces, cur- 
rants, and grapes are sometimes propa- 
gated in this manner (Fig. 91). 




■mm 

Fig. q I . Layering as a means of obtaining new grapevines. The old vines are 
laid down and partially buried. New vines grow from the joints. 



Plant Propagation 



177 



Cuttings. Many kinds of plants can be propagated 
merely by cutting off a portion of a branch and sticking 










Fig. g2 



Eorlicidtural Investigations, U. S. D. A. 
Grapevine cuttings being set in trenches. Roots grow from around 



the buds beneath the soil, while branches grow from the buds above ground. 

it into the ground. Roots start from around the buds 
that are below the surface of the soil. The nutriment 
required to grow these roots comes from the sap of the 
cutting. Willows and poplars are easily propagated in 
this manner. Roses and grapes take root less readily, 
and some care must be used in getting their cuttings 
started. Leaves and branches grow from that portion 
of the cutting that is above ground. Figure 92 shows 
grape cuttings being set out in well-prepared soil. In 
some kinds of plants pieces of roots may be used for 
cuttings. In this case the cuttings should be com- 
pletely buried. 

After sweet potato slips (sprouts from the fleshy roots 
buried in warm earth) have been set out and begun to 
grow vigorously, the tips of the young vines may be cut 
oft" and set out. They readily take root. In the South, 
where the season is long, a large planting may in this 
way be made from a small beginning. 



178 



Farm Science 



Budding. Certain kinds of fruit trees are 
generally propagated by a process called budding. 



quite 
First, 




E ortictiUitral Investigations, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 93. The first two operations in budding. First, a horizontal cut is made 
in the bark of the stock. Second, a vertical cut is made, and the bark peeled 
back. The stock is now ready to receive the new bud. 

seedling plants are grown, in nursery rows. During 
midsummer, when growth is most vigorous, buds are 
cut from the variety to be propagated and inserted into 
the seedling stem near its base. (See Figures 93 and 94.) 
If the bud takes, — that is, if it grows, — the seedling 
stem is cut off the next spring just above where the bud 
was inserted. The bud then grows into a new stem 
of the variety desired. 

There are several methods of budding, but the prin- 
ciples are the same in all. In cutting the bud to be used, 
a portion of the bark around it is sliced off with the bud ; 
also a very httle of the wood under the bud. In one 



Plant Propagation 



179 



method, a horizontal cut is made in the bark of the 
seedling (Fig. 93), and a vertical slit is made downward 




Horticultural Investigations, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 94. Further operations in budding. The bud is cut from the scion, or bud 
stick (not shown here), and inserted under the bark of the stock, as shown. The 
bark is then pressed firmly on to the bud, and the stock is wrapped to keep the 
bark in position. After the bud "takes, " the stock is cut away just above the 
bud. 

from the center of this cut. The bark is then loosened 
from the wood as shown in the figure, and the bark 
attached to the bud is inserted under the bark of the 
seedling (Fig. 94). The bud bark is pushed down as 
far as possible without bruising it, and is then cut off at 
the top even with the horizontal cut, so that the freshly- 
cut surface of the bud bark may rest directly against 
the freshly exposed wood of the seedUng. The two flaps 
of seedling bark are then pressed down on the bud bark 
and firmly tied in position by some kind of wrapping 
material wound around the seedling stem at this point. 



i8o Farm Science 

In preparing the bud for this operation the leaf at the 
base of which the bud is situated is cut away, leaving 
just enough of the stem of the leaf to serv'e as a handle 
for the bud. After the bud begins to grow well, the 
wrapping material is removed. 

Peaches, cherries, and plums are usually propagated 
by budding. 

Grafting. Apples and pears are usually propagated by 
a process called grafting. Many other kinds of plants 
may be propagated in this manner. There are nu- 
merous ways of performing this operation, but the same 
principle is employed in all of them. 

Grafting may be defined as the process of producing 
a new plant, the upper part of which is derived from 
one plant while the lower part is derived from another. 
In this broad sense budding is merely a form of grafting. 
The part which is to form the upper portion of the new 
plant is called the scion, while that which is to form the 
lower part is called the stock. The scion determines 
the kind of fruit the new plant is to produce. The stock 
may be of any kind that will produce a strong, vigorous 
root and that will unite readily with the scion. 

Carefully scrape away the oiiter bark of a one-year-old 
branch of any common fruit tree. Between the wood 
and the bark will be found a thin layer of material 
known as the cambium layer. It is this cambium 
layer that brings back from the leaves the plant food 
manufactured there. In our common trees all growth 
of stem and bark takes place at the cambium layer. 
The fundamental principle to be observed in making a 
graft is to bring the cambium layer of the scion in contact 



Plant Propagation 



i«i 



with that of the stock. If this is not done, the graft will 

not grow. The scion must, of course, be fastened firmly 

in place so that it will 

not move till the union 

of stock and scion is 

complete. 

The scions to be used 
in grafting are usually 
obtained by cutting off 
small branches from the 
tree which it is desired 
to propagate. This is 
done when the tree is 
pruned ; that is, when 
some of its limbs are cut 
off to give the others 
room to grow. The parts 
pruned away are saved 
for scions. Since pruning 
is usually done when 

there are no leaves on the tree, the scions may be kept 
for some time before they are used if care is taken not 
to let them get too dry. 

The common way of obtaining stocks for grafting is 
to grow a large number of seedlings. These may be dug 
up when winter comes and stored in a cellar with the 
roots in moist sand to prevent drying. The grafting is 
usually done just before time to set the seedlings out 
again in the spring. 

In Figure 95 is shown a common method of perform- 
ing the operation of grafting, by cutting off the stock 




Fig. 95. Ordinary cleft graft and method 
of inserting it in the stock. 



l82 



Farm Science 



squarely at a point a few inches above the root, and then 
splitting it back an inch or two. The lower end of the scion 
is then trimmed to a wedge shape and in- 
serted into the split in the stock as shown 
at the right in the figure. The important 
thing in putting the scion in place is to 
make sure that the cambium layer on one 
side of the scion is exactly opposite the 
cambium layer on one side of the stock. 
The union between stock and scion takes 
place between the two cambium layers, 
and it is useless to make a graft without 
bringing these two layers together. 

As soon as the scion is in position, the 
wounded surfaces of both scion and stock, 
except where they are in contact with 
each other, are covered with a specially 
prepared grafting wax, which is put on 
thick enough to form a support for the 
scion, and keep it from working loose 
before the union is complete. The wax 
is then covered with some soft wrapping 
material which is securely tied in place. A fibrous 
material sold under the name " raffia " is commonly 
used for this wrapping. The grafting wax not only 
helps to hold the scion in place but also tends to 
protect the exposed wood of stock and scion from the 
destructive action of the bacteria, molds, and fungi 
that cause decay. 

If the stock is large enough, two scions may be inserted 
in it. If both grow, one of them may later be removed. 




Fig. 96. Year-old 
grafts. 



Plant Propagation 



183 



Figure 96 shows two 
scions on one stock a 
year after the grafting 
was done. The wrap- 
ping and all the wax 
except that in the 
crevices have been 
removed. 

Several other ways 
of attaching scion to 
stock are given in 
books on fruit culture. 

Influence of stock 
on scion. While stock 
and scion unite, and 
become to all intents 
and purposes a single 
plant, neither of them 
changes its nature in 
the least. The fruit 
produced by the new 
plant will be exactly 
the same kind as that 
produced by the tree 
from which the scion 
was taken, except in 
the rare cases where 
" bud sports " occur 
(see below) , or the still rarer cases in which a bud arises 
from the line of union between stock and scion, and 
thus consists partly of stock and partly of scion. If a 




Journal of Heredity 
Fig. 97. Almond grafted on plum stock. 
The scion has outgrown the stock. 



184 Farm Science 

sprout comes from below the point of union, it will be 
entirely of the kind represented by the stock, and will 
show no influence of the scion. 

Stock and scion should be of kinds that grow at about 
the same rate ; otherwise results like those shown in 
Figure 97 may occur. In this case an almond was 
grafted on to a plum. The almond scion has outgrown 
the plum stock. 

Relation of offspring to parent plant. When we cut 
off part of a plant and cause it to grow into a new plant, 
the new individual is really a part of its parent, and has 
exactly the same hereditary qualities as the parent. 
Even bulbs and sets are actually part of the mother 
plant and have the same qualities. It is only when 
new individuals are produced from seed that we have a 
chance to obtain a new combination of hereditary qual- 
ities, for the seed has, or may have, two parents, each 
of which transmits to the offspring a part of its own 
qualities. A cutting has but one parent, and it retains 
all the qualities of that parent. A seedling may be quite 
different from either of its parents. 

Bud sports. While buds generally have exactly the 
qualities of the plant which produced them, occasionally 
a bud is produced that differs somewhat from the branch 
that bears it, but this is a rare occurrence. A branch 
that bears fruit not exactly like that of the rest of the 
tree is called a bud sport. The cause of such sports is 
not known. Nectarines originate as bud sports on peach 
trees. The}' may be said to be peaches without any 
fuzz on them. 



Plant Propagation 185 

Things to Observe 

After studying the descriptions of flowers in the text, 
examine all manner of flowers and see if you can identify 
the parts. 

Observe in cornliekls that occasionally a tassel has grains 
on it ; that is, instead of producing flowers having only 
stamens, a tassel sometimes produces flowers having pistils. 
This is especially likely to occur on the tassel of suckers that 
come up from the base of the cornstalk. Did you ever 
observe that corn suckers more in wet years than in dry ones ? 

Examine mature and immature seed pods and note the 
number of compartments in them, and how the seeds are 
attached to the inner surface of the pod. 

Soak seeds of beans, peas, melons, corn, wheat, etc., in 
water till they are soft, or even till they begin to sprout, and 
then carefully examine the structure of these seeds. See if 
you can identify the parts mentioned in the text. Plant some 
of all these kinds of seeds and note what part of the plant it 
is that comes up first. It is not the same in all cases. 



CHAPTER TWELVE 

WEEDS 

Certain kinds of weeds are very hard to combat. 
Satisfactory means have not yet been found for handUng 




Fig. g8. Rootstock a year old. It sends up new sprouts, then dies at 
the end of the season. 

all of them, but methods are now known by which some 
of the worst weeds can be controlled. The more im- 
portant of these methods are given below. 

Rootstock-producing weeds. The worst weeds of the 
rootstock-producing type are Johnson grass of the 
South (called " Means' grass " in South Carolina) and 
quack grass of the North. The rootstocks, or under- 
ground stems with a bud at each joint (Fig. 98), grow 
from buds in the crown of the plant, just a little below 
the surface of the ground. They begin their growth just 
about the time the plant begins to blossom (Fig. 99). 
If the plants are left undisturbed for a few weeks after 
this the rootstocks grow vigorously, sometimes reaching 
lengths of 10 feet or more. If the soil is loose and fertile, 
they may go quite deep ; but if it is compact, the root- 

186 



Weeds 



187 



stocks grow along not far below the surface. If the 
above-ground portion of the plant be cut away just as 
it begins to blossom, the energy of the plant must again 
be used for making new leaves and above-ground stems, 
so that the growth of the rootstocks is seriously checked. 
In the long summers of the South, Johnson grass may be 
cut twice for hay without danger of rootstock formation, 
if the cutting is done while the plants are in bloom. In 
the short summers of the North, quack grass can be cut 
only once. Immediately after the first cutting of quack 
grass or the second cutting of Johnson grass, the ground 
should be plowed as shallow as possible to insure getting 
below the crowns (meeting place of stems and roots) of 
all the plants. After this the land should be harrowed 
occasionally to prevent any further growth from the 




OJJice of Farm Mana^ancnl (J. S. Cak^i) 
Fig. gg. Rootstocks of Johnson grass just beginning their growth, 
which they do about the time the plant blossoms. One rootstock is 
seen just above the coin, another about 2^ inches to the right 
(pointing downward). 



1 88 Farm Science 

crowns till cold weather begins. This kills the crowns 
completely, and also prevents the formation of root- 
stocks. There is thus left in the ground only the old 
rootstocks formed the previous year. But these all die 
a natural death at the end of the season. Hence the 
land will be clean the next year. 

In plowing to kill the crowns of the old plants, it is 
of the utmost importance not to plow too deep. If the 
crowns are buried deep, they will start new growth 
and thus live over till the next season. 

Running weeds. The commonest weed that produces 
runners, or stems that run along on the surface of the 
ground, taking root at the joints, is the Bermuda grass 
of the South. It is a very fine pasture grass, but is 
troublesome in cultivated crops. By plowing Bermuda 
grass land shallow in midsummer, and then preventing 
all growth of the grass till cold weather, it can be com- 
pletely killed out. In this case also deep plowing must 
be avoided, for the runners, when buried sufficiently 
deep, go right on growing. The idea is to cut the grass 
loose from the soil beneath and then prevent it from 
getting its roots into the soil again. Other running 
weeds may be handled in the same manner. 

Wild garlic. The common wild garlic, often called 
" wild onion," of the Atlantic Coast states has spread 
in recent years as far west as the Mississippi River. It 
gives trouble especially in pastures, because cows are 
very fond of the leaves, while the oil in them gives the 
milk and its products a very disagreeable flavor. It is 
also a very bad weed in wheatfields. It grows about 
as high as the wheat, ripens about the same time, and 



Weeds 189 

the " sets " at the top of the garHc stems are about the 
same size and weight as grains of wheat (Fig. 88, page 
173). They are thus harvested with the wheat and get 
into the threshed grain, where they play havoc with its 
mining quahties. 

The sets at the top of the stalk fall to the ground 
in midsummer and germinate late in the fall or early 
next spring. The plant also has a large soft-shelled 
bulb at the base of the stem, which germinates early in 
the fall and makes considerable growth before winter, and 
begins growth again very early in the spring. Around 
this central, soft-shelled bulb (Fig. 89, page 174) are a 
number of smaller hard-shelled ones, that germinate 
any time from late fall to the middle of the next summer 
— except, of course, in the dead of winter. 

A single deep plowing late in the fall buries the sets 
so deep they cannot grow, and destroys the plants which 
have already started from the large bulbs. If, then, a 
cultivated crop is grown the next year and the plants 
coming from the hard-shelled bulbs are killed by cul- 
tivation, the land is then clean of this pest. 

Some dair}Tnen claim that if cows are allowed to 
pasture on wild garlic only in the forenoon, after the 
morning milking, the milk will not be flavored. During 
the several hours after they are taken off the pasture and 
before they are milked again, the oil which causes the 
bad flavor is evaporated through the lungs and blown 
out in the breath. It takes about four hours for this 
to occur completely. Other farmers claim that even 
with the precaution above mentioned the milk is still 
tainted. 



190 Farm Science 

Winter annuals. Many weeds are winter annuals. 
They come up in the fall and form a rosette of leaves 
(Fig. 69, page 129), sending up their seed stems the 
next year. These are killed by spring plowing. In 
fall-sown grain they may be held in check by harrowing 
the grain a few times in the spring. If the grain is sown 
a bit thick to allow for this, the yield is not reduced 
thereby. The wild mustard infesting the wheatfields of 
the Pacific Northwest is one of the worst weeds of this 
class. It is easily controlled by harrowing. 

Summer-fallowing for weeds. When the system of 
cropping is such that no summer-tilled crops are in- 
cluded, farmers sometimes cultivate the bare land all 
summer once every few years as a means of getting rid 
of weeds. This is an expensive method, but where land 
is cheap, it sometimes pays. 

Smothering crops. Some weeds are best controlled 
by growing a crop like millet, sorghum, etc., that grows 
thick and rank and thus shades small weeds, greatly 
weakening them. The so-called nut grass of the South 
produces a number of tuberlike roots which may live 
for several years and then send up sprouts. About the 
only way to control it is to grow an occasional smothering 
crop. 

Cultivated crops in the rotation. If the succession of 
crops that follow one after the other on a field includes 
an occasional cultivated crop, — that is, if every field on 
the farm is devoted to a summer-tilled crop once every 
few years, — the cultivation of this crop gives a chance to 
kill most of the ordinary annual weeds except those that 
germinate very late in the season and then make seed 



Weeds 191 

before frost. If these late weeds bother, it is sometimes 
possible to exterminate them by pasturing sheep for a 
while in the cultivated crop unless the crop would thereby 
be injured. Corn can be pastured in this way for a 
short time before the ears are ripe. After that the sheep 
soon begin to break down the stalks to get at the ears. 

Class Exercise 

Make a list of all serious weed pests of your community. 
Find how they are propagated, and how long they live. 
Some weeds, like Canada thistle and one kind of morning 
glory, have fleshy roots that send up stems much the same 
as rootstocks do. Ascertain from local farmers the best 
methods of fighting each kind of weed that is abmidant 
locally. 



CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

INSECTS 

Number. About 400,000 kinds of insects have been 
described and given names by scientists. This is prob- 
ably less than half the kinds actually in existence. 

Relation to human welfare. Only two kinds of 
insects have been domesticated. These are the silk- 
worm, from the cocoons of which silk is obtained, and 
bees, which furnish honey and beeswax. 

Many other kinds of insects are highly useful. The 
cochineal insect is used for producing a red coloring 
matter. An extract from the bodies of another kind 
is used in medicine for producing blisters in the treat- 
ment of certain kinds of inflammation. Thousands of 
insects are useful because they destroy other insects. 
Thus the green bug, or aphis, is held in check by the 
young of the ladybug, which feeds on them. Many 
insects lay their eggs in the backs of caterpillars and 
other soft-bodied forms. These hatch into young 
which devour the substance of their host's body. The 
idea that insects very generally have insect enemies 
is well expressed in the little verse that says : 

'Tis said that every kind of fleas 
Has other fleas to bite 'em ; 
These smaller fleas have other fleas, 
And so ad infinitum. 

If it were not for the fact that certain kinds of insects 
are held in check by parasites or other insects that kill 
them, the earth would not be a fit abode for man. If 
every grasshopper hatched were to live out a normal life 
and produce its full quota of offspring, in a few years 

192 



Insects 193 

grasshoppers would become so numerous that they would 
eat up every green thing that grows. 

Insects also perform a useful office in carrying the 
pollen of one flower to the stigmas of others. But there 
is a danger here, for they carry also the germs of disease 
from one plant to another. Pear blight may be spread 
in this manner. 

Many human diseases are transferred from one person 
to another by insects. Certain disease germs require 
for their full development that they must live part of 
the time in one animal and part of the time in another. 
Thus the germs which cause the ordinary form of malaria 
can live only a limited time in human blood. In order 
to continue normal reproduction they must be trans- 
ferred to the body of a certain kind of mosquito. After 
living there for a time they must again be brought back 
into human blood. This kindly office is performed 
by the particular kind of mosquito subject to this disease. 
He sucks up human blood containing the germs, and 
when the germs have given him a siege of chills and fever 
he then transfers them back to the first human being he 
bites. It is obvious that the bite of this mosquito is harm- 
less unless the mosquito is itself sick with the disease. 

Yellow fever is similarly carried by another kind of 
mosquito. The last time this disease broke out in New 
Orleans, it was stopped by the extermination of the 
mosquitoes that carry it. In the absence of these 
insects the disease cannot pass from one person to 
another. The same is true of malaria. The cattle 
fever so destructive in the South is carried from one 
animal to another by a certain kind of tick. This tick 



194 



Farm Science 




Farmers'' Bulletin 856, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. 100. Life stages of a moth. First stage, egg (not shown in the figure) ; 
second, caterpillar, lower left; third, pupa, lower right (this is the chrysalis 
stage) ; fourth, mature insect, upper. 



is now being eradicated, and in sections where this has 
been accomplished the fever has disappeared. 

Typhoid fever is carried by the common house fly, 
but in another way. The germs of this disease occur 
in large numbers in the excrement of t}^hoid patients. 
When this is not properly handled, flies, which lay their 
eggs in such filth, get the germs on their feet and then 
carry them into the house and spread them over every- 
thing on which they light. In this way human food 
becomes contaminated, and those eating such food 
get the disease. Flies themselves do not have typhoid. 

Typhus fever is carried by a certain kind of body louse 
which is itself subject to the disease. The elimination 
of these lice stops the spread of typhus. 



Insects 



195 




Home Nature Study Course, Cornell University 
Fig. ioi. Cocoon of a butterfly. The pupa 
remains in the cocoon over winter. 



Stages of insect life. 
Many kinds of insects 
pass through four dif- 
ferent stages before 
they complete their 
life cycle. First is 
the egg, which hatches 
into what is ordinarily 
called a worm (Fig. 
100) . Examples of 
these are caterpillars, 
tobacco worms, and 
maggots. This worm 
stage is called the 
larva of the insect. 
Caterpillars are the larval stage of moths or butterflies. 
The tobacco worm is the larva of a large moth. ISIag- 
gots are the larvae of flies. Larvae feed ravenously and 
grow rapidly. When full grown they shed their skin 
and are then found to be very different from what they 
were before. This new stage is the pupa. Pupae 
neither eat nor grow. Finally the pupa sheds its skin 
and the full-grown insect comes out. By imprisoning 
worms in cages with an abundance of their favorite 
food, the progress through these various stages may be 
observed. Most of the harm done by insects is done in 
the larval stage. Many kinds of larvas spin cocoons 
about themselves, and change into pupae, and these 
change into full-grown insects, within these cocoons. 
Silk is made from the cocoons of silkworms. Cocoons of 
some common insects are shown in Figures loi and 102. 



196 



Farm Science 




Home Nature Study Course, Cornell University 

Fig. 102. Cocoon of another species of 
butterfly. The side is cut away to show the 
pupa within. 



Other insects, like 
the grasshopper, for 
instance, are very 
much Hke full-grown 
individuals when they 
hatch from the egg, ex- 
cept that their wings 
are rudimentary. 

They shed their skin 
several times as they 
grow, each time com- 
ing out more and 
more like the full-grown insect. The squashbug de- 
velops in a similar manner. Its life stages are shown 
in Figure 103. 

Methods of feeding. Many kinds of insects have 
mouth parts adapted to chewing their food, and they 
eat leaves or other parts of plants. When their eating 
is done in the open (not inside the plant), such insects 
may be killed by putting poison on their food. Paris 
green, a compound of arsenic, and lead arsenate are 
used for this purpose. 

Other kinds of insects live only on the juices of 
plants. They are provided with mouth parts that 
enable them to pierce the skin of the plant and suck 
out the plant juices. Poisons are useless in fight- 
ing these kinds. They may be killed by the use of 
caustic substances that attack their bodies, or by 
oily substances that spread over them and stop their 
breathing pores. The green bug, scale insects (Fig. 104), 
and the squashbug are examples of this type. 



Insects 



197 




Farmers'' Bulletin 856, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 103. The stages of development of a squashbug, from egg (left upper 
corner) to mature insect. The insect sheds its skin in passing from one stage to 
the ne.xt. 

Fumigation. Some insects are best combated by 
the use of poisonous gases. Orange growers sometimes 
cover their trees with cloth and then set free under the 
cloth a very poisonous gas called hydrocyanic acid. 
This kills the insects on the trees. Sulphureted hy- 
drogen gas (H2S) is frequently used for killing insects 
in stored seeds. Formalin gas also is used for this 
purpose. 

Why the boll weevil is hard to fight. Before cotton 
blossoms, the old boll weevils that have survived the 
winter eat the young leaves just forming at the end of 
the stem and its branches. Even if poison is spread 
over the plants, the new growth that is continually 
coming out will have no poison on it, and the insect 



1 98 



Farm Science 



Farmers' Bulletin 723, 
U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 104. One of the 
scale insects. 



thus escapes. The eggs of this insect 
are laid in holes which the mother 
bores into the young blossom buds, 
and as soon as hatched the young 
worm crawls inside the bud where he 
cannot be reached by poison. For 
the same reason there is not much 
chance of finding parasites for the 
boll-weevil larvae. They spend their 
lives out of reach of such parasites. 
The only way to fight this insect is 
to rush the young cotton along so 
that at least a partial crop of bolls 
may mature before the weevils be- 
come so numerous as to get into 
every flower. The multiphcation of 
the weevils may also be retarded 
early in the season by picking up and 
destroying the fallen blossom buds 
(the so-called squares) that contain 
the larvae. Pictures of mature boll 
weevils, considerably enlarged, are 
shown in Figure 105. 

Things to Observe 

Mosquito eggs and larvae. Look for 
" wrigglers " in stagnant water. These 
are the young of the mosquito. Observe 
how they shed their skins when fully 
grown. Look on the surface of the 
water for " mosquito boats." They look 
like a pile of very small cordwood. They 



Insects 



199 



are mosquito eggs. If you watch closely, you may see 
young wrigglers crawling out of the eggs. Why is it un- 
desirable to allow stagnant water about the place? 




Fig. 105. 



Farmers' Bulletin S4S, U. S. D. A. 
Mature boll weevils (enlarged to about five times natural size). 



Ladybug larvae feeding. Wherever 3'ou find plenty of 
" green bugs " (aphis), you are likely to find the young of 
the ladybug eating them. Watch for this. 

Ants' " dairy cows." Watch ants that crawl about where 
there are aphis. They use these insects for much the same 
purpose as we use milch cows. The juice they get from the 
little " horns " on the back of the aphis is honey dew. A 
good place to observe this is on grapevines in summer. 
Some kinds of ants take care of the aphis eggs in winter and 
put the young aphids out to " pasture " in the spring. 

Parasites on caterpillars. By watching carefully in late 
summer, you will occasionally find a large green " worm " 
with little cocoons hanging to its back. If you save these 
cocoons, they will soon hatch out into small flies. The mother 
fly laid her eggs in the back of the worm, and the young 
lived as parasites in the worm's body. 

Insects carrying pollen. Watch insects visiting flowers. 
Do you find pollen on them ? Do they get any of this pollen 
on the stigmas of the flowers they visit ? 



200 Farm Science 

Pupae. In winter look for cocoons on the branches of 
trees and elsewhere. These have pupae inside of them. Put 
some of them in glass jars and cover with cheesecloth. When 
warm weather comes, they will emerge as full-grown insects. 
The hard skin on a pupa is called a chrysalis. 

Grasshoppers. Observe young grasshoppers. How do 
they differ from full-grown ones? In late summer watch 
where grasshoppers lay their eggs. 

Biting and sucking insects. Examine the mouth parts of 
insects you find eating the leaves of plants. Examine also 
the mouth parts of those like moths, butterflies, and squash- 
bugs, that feed only on juices. 

Experiment 

Put a little kerosene (enough to cover the surface) on stag- 
nant water containing wrigglers. What happens to the 
wrigglers? What would be a good plan for getting rid of 
mosquitoes ? 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

FUNGI 

In Chapter Nine it was stated that all organic bodies 
are composed of cells, and that organisms are found 
consisting of any number of cells, from one to uncounted 
millions. Plants and animals whose bodies consist of 
relatively few cells, and which are simple in structure, 
are usually referred to as the Lower Organisms, while 
larger plants and animals of complex structure are called 
the Higher Plants and Animals. 

Reproduction in the lower organisms. The higher 
plants reproduce mostly from seeds, the formation of 
which has already been given in some detail. The lower 
plants do not produce seed. In most of them there is 
a process of fertilization similar to that described for 
ordinary plants, but the fertilized cell grows directly 
into a new plant instead of forming a seed, though, hke 
seeds, they may not begin their growth for a long time 
after they are formed. Some of the lowest plants, 
especially those consisting of a single cell, reproduce 
merely by division, without fertilization so far as known, 
though in some of them there is occasionally a union of 
two cells similar to that which occurs in fertilization. 
Many kinds reproduce in both ways ; that is, an unfer- 
tilized cell may be cut off by division and set free to grow 
into a new plant, or certain cells may be set aside for 
the production of germ cells which must then unite with 
other germ cells before they can. grow. 

Those plants in which the reproductive cells grow 
directly into new plants without the formation of seeds 
are called spore-bearing plants, and their reproductive 



202 Farm Science 

cells are called spores. Ferns, mosses, and seaweeds 
are the largest and most conspicuous of the spore bear- 
ers. None of them produce seed. There are many 
thousands of other kinds of spore-bearing plants — 
mostly small, or even microscopic, organisms. 

Fungi. The ofifice of green coloring matter in plants 
has been set forth in a previous chapter (page 143). 
It enables the plant to utilize the carbon of CO2 in the 
air, and thus to form starch, the basic food material 
of plants. But- when a plant has acquired the ability 
to live as a parasite on another plant, or on an animal, 
or when it has acquired the power of living on the dead 
remains of plants or animals, it is no longer dependent 
on the carbonic acid gas of the air, for it can obtain 
its food already prepared for it. Among the spore- 
bearing plants a very large number of species have ac- 
quired the power of thus drawing their sustenance from 
other organisms, and have lost the power of producing 
the green coloring matter that formerly enabled them to 
produce starch. These degenerate forms are called 
fungi (singular, fungus). They play a very important 
part in agriculture, chiefly because of their parasitic 
habits. Some of them, however, render great service 
to the farmer, as we shall see. 

Even some seed-producing plants have acquired the 
power of stealing their food from other plants, and some 
of these have no green coloring matter in them, but 
they are not classed as fungi. The common ghost 
plant, found in shaded woods, is an example. Its roots 
are attached to the roots of trees from which it obtains 
its nutriment. Mistletoe, although it is a parasite on 



Fungi 203 

the limbs of trees, still produces the green coloring matter 
in its leav^es and stems. 

Bacteria. Bacteria are the lowest form of fungi. 
They are one-celled, and their bodies contain no chlo- 
rophyl (green coloring matter). As stated in an earher 
chapter (page 134), they have no organized nucleus. 
Figures 74 and 75 (page 135) are actual photographs 
of two kinds of these tiny organisms, taken by the aid 
of a high-power microscope. An ordinary size for 
bacteria is -~ inch in diameter. This means that it 
would take 25,000 of them placed in a row to reach an 
inch. 

These minute organisms play a most important part 
in nature. Having no chlorophyl, and hence being 
unable to manufacture starch, they must obtain their 
carbonaceous food either as parasites in other organisms 
or from dead organic matter. A few kinds have other 
ways of obtaining carbon. 

By far the greater number of bacteria live in dead 
organic matter, but many other kinds are parasites, 
being responsible for diseases of various kinds both 
in plants and in animals. They are very abundant 
in nature, and are so small that a single grain of dust, 
barely large enough to be seen, may have hundreds 
of them sticking to its surface. One third of the weight 
of fresh manure is made up of them. A cubic inch of 
moderately rich soil may contain ten or twenty milHon 
of these tiny organisms, and always contains vast num- 
bers. A single drop of sour milk usually contains sev- 
eral milHon bacteria, though fortunately the kinds ordi- 
narily found in clean milk are useful rather than harm- 



204 Farm Science 

ful. If all kinds of these small creatures could be kept 
out of a vessel of milk, it would never sour. 

Bacteria, yeasts, and molds (see below) are all causes 
of decay. In obtaining their food from organic matter, 
they ordinarily use only a portion of the food material. 
They break up the molecules of the material on which 
they feed, and these large molecules, sometimes con- 
sisting of hundreds of atoms, give rise to numerous 
new organic compounds, some of which may have very 
disagreeable odors. They are abundant wherever any 
kind of decaying matter is found. It is nearly impos- 
sible to find a spot entirely free from them,^ but in such 
a place a piece of fresh meat could be hung up in the 
open air on a warm summer day without danger of 
spoiling ; it would simply dry up. In the high moun- 
tains the air is so free from these organisms that sheep 
herders kill a mutton and leave it hanging in the open 
until it is all used up. 

In canning fruits and vegetables the organisms that 
cause decay are destroyed by heating the material to 
be canned, usually after it is placed in the cans. If 
the process is so performed that no living organisms are 
left in the cans, the food thus prepared keeps almost 
indefinitely. (See Figure io6.) 

Work of bacteria on organic matter in the soil. Starch 
and other easily digested food materials are more or 
less plentiful in straw and in plant remains generally 

^ There are no bacteria in healthy plant or animal tissue, in crystals 
or solid rocks, or below a moderate depth (a few feet ordinarily) in the 
soil. It is not known how high they o(?cur in the atmosphere, but few 
are found in the air on high mountains. 



Fungi 



205 




Slates Relations Seriice, U. S. D. A. (0. F. Benson) 
Fig. 106. A shelf of canned fruits and vegetables. These do not decay, 
because the germs which cause decay are absent. 



before they have begun to decay. When vegetable 
matter is mixed with the soil, bacteria and other fungi, 
which are always abundant in a good soil, at once begin 
to use these easily digested materials as food. Much 
of the carbon contained in the organic matter is used, 
along with oxygen either from the organic matter or 
from the air, in the production of carbonic acid gas. 
It will be shown later that this rapid destruction of 
easily digested organic matter is important from the 
standpoint of soil fertility. 

Other kinds of bacteria in the soil convert the nitro- 
gen of organic matter into ammonium compounds. 

As soon as ammonium compounds appear in the 
soil, bacteria found in all soils begin at once to con- 
vert them into nitrites, or substances containing the 
atomic combination NO2. Nitrites are poisonous to 
ordinary plants. 

When nitrites become available, other bacteria at 
once begin to convert them into nitrates, or substances 
containing the atomic group NO3. 

Since crops very generally prefer to have their nitro- 
gen in the form of nitrates, it is easily seen that agri- 



2o6 Farm Science 

culture would be practically impossible without these 
soil bacteria. 

Unfortunately there are also very generally present 
in the soil other kinds of bacteria that, under conditions 
suitable to them, at once begin to destroy nitrates as 
soon as they appear in the soil. They break up the 
nitrates and set the nitrogen in them free, thus giving 
it back again to the air whence it originally came. 
Figure 107 shows the changes which different kinds of 
bacteria cause in the various classes of nitrogen com- 
pounds. 

It is important for the farmer to understand how to 
prevent these bacteria from destroying the nitrates in 
the soil. They can accomplish nothing unless there is 
present in the soil such food materials as starch, sugar, 
or other easily digestible foodstuffs rich in carbon. 
This is the reason why it is important to ferment the 
starch, sugar, etc., out of vegetable matter before add- 
ing it to the soil. 

If fresh manure, straw, and similar fertilizers be put 
on the land in the fall and mixed well with the soil, 
then by the time nitrate formation becomes active with 
the coming of warm weather in the spring the easily 
digested carbon-containing materials will all have been 
consumed by the numerous kinds of bacteria that 
thrive on them. Some of these are more or less active 
at all times during the winter except when the ground 
is actually frozen. The nitrate-destroying bacteria 
cannot cope with such a situation. They cannot break 
up the nitrates because they have no food of the kind 
they require to enable them to do this work. 



I 



Fungi 



207 






/ 



NITROGEN 
IN THE FORM 
OF NITRATE 

Most valuable 
food for crops 






\. 



\^ 



V 



ANIMAL 
MATTER 

NITROGEN 
IN ORGANIC 
COMPOUNDS 

VEGETABLE 
MATTER 



K I H 
ttt 



FREE 

NITROGEN 

OR NITROGEN 

GAS 
Useless to crops 



NITROGEN 

IN THE FORM 

OF NITRITE 

Poison to 

crops 



N 



A\ 



\ 



NITROGEN 

IN THE FORM 

OFAMMONIA 

Food for 

some crops 



n 



^ 



Year Book, U. S. D. A. (/pop) 
Fig. 107. Nitrogen changes produced in soil by action of bacteria. The arrows 
indicate the course of the changes which various groups of bacteria may produce 
in the nitrogen compounds of the soil. A, action of ammonifying bacteria which 
change organic nitrogen to ammonia ; B. action of nitrifying bacteria which change 
ammonia to nitrite ; C, action of nitrifying bacteria which change nitrite to nitrate ; 
D, assimilation of nitrate by green plants; E. action of denitrifying bacteria 
which change nitrate to nitrite ; F, action of denitrifying bacteria which change 
nitrite to ammonia; G, action of denitrifying bacteria which change ammonia 
to nitrogen gas; //, action of bacteria which change nitrogen gas into proteid 
nitrogen ; /, action of bacteria which in symbiosis with leguminous plants change 
nitrogen gas into proteid nitrogen ; K, action of bacteria which in symbiosis 
with certain nonleguminous plants change nitrogen gas into proteid nitrogen. 



2o8 Farm Science 

Where manure is not abundant, it can be made to go 
farther by allowing it to ferment a few weeks before 
adding it to the soil, for in this way the food required 
by nitrate destroyers is taken out of the manure. In this 
fermenting, the manure should not be exposed to the 
weather, nor should it be left loose and open for air to 
get into. At the same time it should be kept moist. 
The best plan, where feasible, is to leave it under the 
animals that produce it, using plenty of bedding to keep 
the animals dry and clean. The next best plan is to 
place the manure in a covered manure pit to which the' 
farm animals have access, and let them keep it well 
tramped down. In six or eight weeks it will be prop- 
erly fermented and may then be spread on the land. 

Rich soil always contains a considerable amount of 
vegetable matter. Bacteria thrive on this, gradually 
breaking it up and converting it into simpler substances. 
As the particles of organic matter in the soil fall to pieces 
and decay, they leave small openings in the soil. This 
tends to make the soil loose. It is therefore much easier 
to put a rich soil into a condition of good tilth than it 
is a compact soil containing little organic matter. Air 
and water also circulate better in a rich soil than in a 
poor one, unless the latter is quite sandy. Soil bacteria 
are thus seen to render very important service to the 
farmer. 

Bacterial diseases. While most kinds of bacteria 
live in dead organic matter, there are not a few kinds 
that invade the bodies of living plants and animals, 
and live there as parasites. In a book of this size we 
can do little more than refer to this matter, hoping the 



Fungi 209 

student will later have an opportunity to learn more 
of the subject in his other studies. Many of our con- 
tagious diseases are due to bacteria. Tuberculosis is 
an example. In plants, one of the promment bacterial 
diseases is pear blight. The organism that causes this 
disease Hves in the cambium layer of the pear tree. 
Apple trees are also more or less subject to this disease. 
The leaves on infected branches dry up and turn brown 
or black. The only remedy is to cut off the diseased 
branches and burn them. 

Higher fungi. The relation between the structure of 
bacteria and that of the more highly developed fungi 
may best be imagined by recalling the action of pollen 
grains in the production of tubes (Fig. 84, page 165). 
The pollen tube is a long, cylindrical outgrowth from 
the pollen grain. The higher fungi begin their growth 
from the spore, or single-celled stage, in much the 
same way as a pollen grain produces a tube. But in 
the growth of a fungus the spore sends out a threadlike 
growth which branches and rebranches until it makes 
a network of fine threads, usually within the substance 
on which it feeds. This threadlike growth is called 
the mycelium of the fungus. Each thread is filled with 
cytoplasm, just as any living cell is, and has nuclei here 
and there in it. Sometimes partitions form between 
the various nuclei in a thread, but this does not always 
happen. All these nuclei are, of course, derived, by 
division, from former nuclei. Figure 108 shows the 
mycelial growth of a typical fungus of this kind. At 
the proper time certain branches of the mycelium throw 
out growths on which spores are produced and set free 



2IO 



Farm Science 




to begin the development of new individuals. Some 
of these " fruiting " branches are shown in the figure. 

Most kinds of fungi draw their 
sustenance from dead organic matter, 
but not a few kinds invade the bodies 
of living plants or animals, and thus 
give rise to characteristic diseases. 
While these invaders are very unwel- 
come " guests," the living body which 
they invade is called the host of the 
fungus. 

Generally speaking, the mycelium of 

a fungus is found in the substance 

from which it draws its food, while the 

fruitmg," portion 

In the case 

of several species of fungi parasitic in the bodies of 
living organisms, the spores are produced inside the 
body of the host, and obtain the chance to become 
scattered to other host plants only when the portion 
of the host occupied by them dies and decays. 

The principal difference between the various fungi 
that produce a mycelium is in the form of the fruiting 
portions. In the simplest forms these are mere branches 
of the mycelium, forming spores at their tips. In the 
more highly developed forms the fruiting bodies are 
elaborately developed. Figure io8 shows one of the 
simpler forms. Figure 109 is a diagrammatic repre- 
sentation of a toadstool, which is one of the more highly 
developed fungi. Note the large bundles of mycelium 
at the bottom. This mycelium penetrates the sub- 



FiG. 108. Mycelium 

and fruiting portions 

of one of the simpler sporC-bcaring, or 

fungi, much enlarged. , , . • , ,^ 

extends out mto the air. 



Fungi 



211 




stance from which the fungus draws its nourishment, 
usually a piece of decaying wood or other dead organic 
matter. The part which we 
know as the toadstool is merely 
the fruiting body. The spores 
are borne in minute, club-shaped 
bodies attached to the mem- 
branes on the under surface of 
the hood. A few kinds of toad- 
stools send their mycelia down 
into the roots of living trees, 
and are thus parasitic in their 
habits. Most kinds are sapro- 
phytic, which means that they 
draw their nourishment 
dead organic matter. 

You have all noticed the fungous growths that form 
shelves on the sides of dead or dying trees. These often 
grow to be quite large, and their substance is hard and 
resistant. These growths are the fruiting portions of 
fungi the mycelium of which penetrates into the dead 
or dying wood of the tree on which they grow, and there 
obtain their food. 

Yeast. The various kinds of yeast plants constitute 
an interesting and important group of fungi. Although 
they* are, for the most part, one-celled organisms, their 
methods of reproduction show them to be degenerate 
forms of the higher fungi. Figure 73, page 134, shows 
several individual yeast plants, all but one in the act 
of "budding," which is one of the methods by which 
new individuals arise in these plants. 



^ 4^ 

Fig. log. Diagrammatic repre- 
sentation of a toadstool, showing 
mycelium and fruiting body, 
from The root-like organs at the base 
are bundles of mycelial threads. 



212 Farm Science 

The yeast used in making bread consists of a multi- 
tude of these tiny plants, along with starchy food ma- 
terial for their use. In their growth, they convert part 
of the starch on which they feed into alcohol and car- 
bonic acid gas. It is the bubbles of this gas that cause 
yeast bread to rise. The alcohol in the dough is driven 
ofi in the process of baking. 

Another kind of yeast plant is used in converting the 
starch of corn, rye, and other grains into alcohol. Yeasts 
take part also in the conversion of cider into vinegar. 
Yeast changes the sugar in cider to alcohol, and then 
other organisms convert the alcohol into acetic acid, 
the sour substance of vinegar. 

Fungous diseases of plants. The number of plant 
diseases caused by fungi is so great that it is impossible 
in a book like this even to mention all of them. All 
that can be done here is to call attention to some of the 
more prominent of these diseases. It is hoped that 
this brief treatment of so important a subject w^ill serve 
to arouse your interest, and lead you to observe closely 
such of these diseases as come to your attention. While 
most fungous diseases attack only a single kind of 
plant, there are a few that attack several different 
kinds. Practically every one of the higher plants is 
subject to one or more — sometimes many — fungous 
diseases. 

Late blight of potatoes. The fungus that causes this 
very destructive disease belongs to a group known as the 
" downy mildews." Its spores light on the leaves or 
stems of potato vines, and begin to develop mycelia. 
These enter the breathing pores which are found in the 



Fungi 213 

surface layer of all green plants and spread throughout 
the tissues of the host. When ready to produce new 
spores, branches of the mycelium come to the surface 
and produce there a downy growth from which the 
name " downy mildew " is taken. There are many 
similar diseases. The only way to fight them is to 
cover the surface of the host plants with some kind 
of spray that will prevent the development of the 
spores which happen to find lodgment there. Copper 
sulfate is one of the substances much used in such 
sprays. 

Powdery mildews. Another large group of fungous 
diseases is given the name " powdery mildews." The 
mildew so often seen on rose leaves is one of the most 
common of these diseases. In this group the mycehum 
develops on the surface of the host, and sends down tiny 
rootlike organs into the" tissues for food. They may be 
quite as destructive as the downy mildews. The blight 
which sometimes plays havoc in hopfields belongs here. 
Gooseberry bushes are often seriously injured by one 
of these blights. Copper sulfate sprays are also useful 
in combating this class of fungi. ^ 

^ There is an interesting story connected with the powdery mildew 
of the grape. This disease is native to this country, occurring on our 
native grapevines, on which it does little injury. But when the disease 
got a foothold in Europe, it proved to be very destructive to the species 
of grapes grown there. 

The value of copper sulfate as a means of preventing the spread of 
fungi Was discovered in France in a curious way. A solution of this 
substance was sprinkled on grapevines growing bj' a roadside to prevent 
passers-by from stealing the grapes; when lo ! it was discovered that 
vines thus treated were not attacked by mildew, while other vines near 
by were badly affected. 



214 Farm Science 

Grain rusts. The rusts commonly found on wheat 
and oats belong to another group of very destructive 
fungous diseases. The mycelium of the rusts develops 
inside the host plant, and the characteristic red and 
black spots on the surface of infected plants are only 
bunches of spore cases and spore-forming tissue of the 
parasite. These fungi produce spores in four different 
ways. One of the four kinds of spores is red and another 
black. The red spores of wheat rust usually occur on 
the leaves and the black spores on the stems of the plant. 
The little patches of spore-bearing growth are easily 
seen on infected plants. 

A very striking member of this group is the orange 
rust of the blackberry, found more or less commonly 
over nearly all this country. It forms large and very 
conspicuous patches of a bright orange color on the 
leaves of blackberry bushes. 

Smuts. Perhaps the most important of all the groups 
of fungous diseases is the one known as the smuts. 
Wheat, oats, barley, and corn are all subject to diseases 
of this kind. In the case of wheat and oat and barley 
smuts, the spores find lodgment on the surface of the 
grain, usually at threshing time. When the infected 
seed is sown, the smut spores germinate at the same 
time as the seed. The mycelium of the parasite invades 
the body of the tender seedling, and continues to grow 
inside the body of the host till the latter is mature and 
begins to form seed. The mycelium then invades the 
young seed and forms its spores within the seed. The 
seed of infected wheat is little more than a mass of smut 
spores. In some forms of smut even the glumes of the 



Fungi 



215 



flowers of the host 
plant become filled 
with the spores of the 
parasite. Figure no 
shows a head of oats 
destroyed in this 
manner. 

When infected grain 
is threshed, the smut 
spores are scattered 
among the non-in- 
fected grain and lodge 
on the surface of 
almost every grain. 
There are several very 
effective ways of kill- 
ing these smut spores 
on seed grain. In 
some cases this is 
done by soaking the 
seed in hot water. In 
others the seed is soaked in a solution of copper 
sulfate. A solution of formalin is also much used for 
this purpose. 

Spot fungi. Many of the higher plants are subject 
to fungous diseases which cause spots, often very small 
and usually colored, to appear on the infected portions 
of the plant. In these spots are the fruiting portion ot 
the fungus. You can find these diseases on numerous 
cultivated and wild plants. In fact, most discolored 
spots that appear on leaves are due to fungi. 




Cereal Invesligations, U. S. D. A. (M. A. Carlton) 
Fig. ho. Oats affected by smut (at n'sht). 



2i6 Farm Science 




Farmers' Bulletin 865, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. III. Potatoes affected by scab, a fungous disease. 

Other important fungous diseases. Among the nu- 
merous fungous diseases not already mentioned are apple 
scab, potato scab (Fig. iii), melon and cucumber 
bhght, cotton wilt, cowpea wilt (Fig. 112), apple canker, 
and tomato blight. You will learn more of these diseases 
in some of your later studies. 

Sources of information. Since practically every crop 
the farmer grows is subject to one or more fungous dis- 
eases, as well as to attacks by insects, and since almost 
every one of these plant enemies differs more or less from 
others in the measures necessary for its control, it is 
manifestly impossible to give here the details of all these 
methods. Besides, scientists are continually learning 
new methods of fighting diseases and pests, so that the 
best of known methods one year may not be so the next. 
For these reasons it is necessary for the farmer to keep 
in touch with his state experiment station and with the 
United States Department of Agriculture. These in- 
stitutions will send him bulletins giving the details of 
the latest methods. When any particular difficulty 
arises, the farmer should explain the situation to the 



Fungi 



217 



scientists of the state or national government, giving 
them such information as they may require as to the 
nature of the difficulty, sending specimens of the dis- 
eased plants or of insects attacking his crops, and get 
from them such information as they may be able to give 
as to the best course to pursue. Unfortunately no satis- 
factory means of controlling some insect pests and plant 
diseases is yet known. 



Things to Observe 

Watch for mold growing on decaying fruit in cellars, and 
on such things as bread and cheese left In damp places. 
Put some bread or cheese in a damp, dark place and see if 
mold grows on it. The spores of molds are very widely scat- 




/;,,/, ,;.( '7 rUml Industry, U. S. D. .1. (Onoit) 
Fig. 112. A row of iron cowpcas, a variety resistant to the fungous disease 
known as "cowpea wilt." Where the land is inoculated with this disease, this 
is a good variety to grow. Adjoining rows of other varieties have been killed 
by wilt. 



2i8 Farm Science 

tered, and will alight and germinate almost anywhere. The 
mycelial threads are too small to be seen singly, but they 
often form webby masses that can be seen. The fruiting 
bodies of some of the molds can readily be seen by the aid 
of a small pocket magnifier. 

If you happen to hve in a region where potatoes are af- 
fected by late blight, see if you can find the downy growth of 
this fungus on potato leaves that are suffering from the blight. 
This disease belongs to the downy mildews. 

The powdery mildew of the rose is very common in this 
country. Note its appearance on affected rose leaves. 

Examine heads of wheat and oats that are affected by 
smut. In some parts of the country wheat is affected by 
stinking smut. It has a disgusting odor. This disease is 
common in the Columbia River basin. It is not the only 
kind of smut to which wheat is subject. The best time to 
observe these diseases is just before harvest. Nearly every 
cornfield has some smut in it. The spores of corn smut de- 
velop usually in the ear and husk. The affected parts become 
much swollen and distorted. When the smut is ripe, these 
swollen portions are full of a black powder, which consists 
of smut spores. 

Rust can be found on wheat and oats nearly everywhere. 
Examine the rust spots on leaf and stem. The spots on the 
leaves of wheat are usually red, while those on the stem are 
usually black. This is due to the difference in the kinds 
of spores that form in these two situations. Nearly all 
grasses are affected by some kind of rust. Note the bright 
orange-colored rust commonly found on wild blackberry 
leaves. It sometimes covers several entire leaves. 

Look for such diseases as apple scab (which forms rough 
places on the fruit, but also occurs on the leaves), potato 
scab, blight on muskmelon and cucumber vines, cotton wilt, 
cowpea wilt, tomato blight, canker on apple trees, pear 
blight, etc., etc. Pear blight usually spreads through an 
orchard soon after the blossoming season, for at that time 



Fungi 219 

bees and other insects carry the disease from flower to flower 
in their search for nectar. The disease then grows down into 
the stem to which the flower is attached. 

You can find spot diseases due to fungi on a great many 
kinds of plants. The spots are due to the development of 
the mycehum of the fungus inside the leaf. Only the fruit- 
ing portions of these fungi appear on the surface of the leaf. 

Examine toadstools and mushrooms and note the differ- 
ence in the structure of the fruiting bodies of the different 
kinds. Look for the bundles of mycelial threads in the soil 
beneath these fruiting bodies. Some toadstools are quite 
poisonous ; so do not taste any kind not known to be good 
to eat. 

Look for " fairy rings " in pastures. These are due to 
the action of fungi belonging to the toadstool and mushroom 
group. A toadstool gets started in a favorable location, and 
gradually spreads in all directions, dying out at the center 
where it started. As it spreads in the soil, it decomposes the 
organic matter on which it feeds, thus making more food 
available to the grass growing above. The grass grows more 
rankly in a circle just above where the mycelium of the 
fungus occurs in the soil. Sometimes the ring of rank grass 
is double, with a row of toadstools growing in a bare space 
between the two rows of rank grass. 

Look for the very interesting cup fungi that are commonly 
found in damp, shady places. They are often abundant on 
the surface of the soil in grainfields just at harvest time. 
In some kinds the cups are about large enough to hold a 
grain of wheat. Some kinds look Hke miniature birds'-nests, 
with little eggs in them. The " eggs " are full of spores. The 
cups are the fruiting bodies of fungi akin to the toadstools. 

Examine the green slime often found in stagnant water. 
It consists of very fine threads similar to the mycelium of a 
fungus, except that they contain chlorophyl. Some of the 
fungi are, in fact, degenerate relatives of this green-slime 
vegetation. 



220 Farm Science 

Study the processes used in making yeast bread. The 
explanations given in the text should enable you to under- 
stand the reasons for the details of this process. 

Late in the fall it is not uncommon to observe dead house 
flies on a window pane surrounded by a halo of fungus spores 
from a fungous disease that has killed the dead flies. 

Chinch bugs are subject to a similar fungous disease. This 
disease has been propagated artificially amongst chinch bugs, 
and spreads rapidly in wet weather. In a dry season it is 
useless to try to spread it. 



PART THREE — THE ANIMAL 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

PURPOSES FOR WHICH LIVESTOCK ARE KEPT ON THE 

FARM 

Farm animals are usually referred to as livestock. 
The various purposes for which livestock are kept are : 

As work animals. 

As a means of producing home supplies of animal 
products. 

As scavengers (consumers of waste products). 

As a means of winter employment. 

As a means of increasing the productive labor of the 
farm at all seasons. 

As a means of converting farm crops into more valu- 
able form. 

For the production of manure. 

For raising young animals for sale as breeding stock. 

As pets. 
On any given farm livestock may serve any or all 
of the above purposes. 

Farm work stock. In countries where human labor 
is very cheap, as it is in China and India, many farms 
have no work animals. Some farms in this country 
are so small that it does not pay to keep work animals 
on them, and others need horse labor only a few days 
in the year. In such cases it is cheaper to hire horses 
when they are needed than to keep them the year round. 

Eighty-two and one half per cent of the farm work 
animals in this country are horses. Nearly all the re- 



22 2 Farm Science 

mainder are mules. In the cotton fields and on the 
sugar plantations of the South mules are more common 
than horses, though most of these Southern mules are 
reared in the North. Mules consume a larger propor- 
tion of coarse roughage, such as cornstalks, sorghum 
fodder, etc., than horses. They are also less inclined 
to become nervous and excitable under rough handling. 
For both these reasons they are preferred by Southern 
farmers, who depend almost exclusively on Negro 
labor. 

Oxen are occasionally used on farms in the South 
and in New England, but are rarely seen elsewhere. 
When the country was new and there was abundant idle 
land covered with nutritious grasses, oxen were impor- 
tant work animals on the farm. They could get most of 
their nourishment from these native grasses, and hence 
cost little for feed. Because of their slow motions, oxen 
do considerably less work in a day than horses or mules ; 
and now, when they must be fed valuable hay and grain, 
it is usually cheaper to do farm work with horses or 
mules than with oxen. 

Production of home supplies of animal products. 
On farms where the standard of living is what it should 
be, there are always found at least poultry enough to 
supply the home demand for eggs and poultry meat, 
a pig or two to supply fresh pork, hams, and bacon, 
and a cow or two to supply milk and butter. Unless 
the farmer keeps at least this amount of stock, the farm 
family seldom has as much of their products as it should 
have. Few farmers will pay out good money for things 
not absolutely necessary, even when they are deriving 



Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept 223 

an excellent profit from their farms. Furthermore, 
when these things must be bought it is not possible 
to get them of as high quality as those produced on the 
farm. 

Livestock as scavengers. On practically every farm 
there are materials that have no market value, and yet 
can be utilized as feed for stock. When properly used, 
these materials may add many dollars to the farm in- 
come. The hst includes cornstalks, straw, damaged 
or otherwise unsalable hay, grain wasted in harvesting 
and threshing, weeds and weed seeds, and grasses and 
weeds growing in fence rows, along roadsides, and on 
rough,' un tillable land. Even insects are good feed 
for poultry. The wise farmer plans to keep enough 
stock to consume these materials. In order to do this 
effectively, it is often necessary to keep several kinds of 
animals, so that one kind will eat what another kind 
refuses. 

The animals most frequently used for this purpose 
are poultry, cattle, hogs, and sheep, in the order named. 
On small farms the animals kept for the production of 
home supplies frequently consume all these waste prod- 
ucts, so that no additional animals are needed for the 
purpose. 

The farmer who does not keep as much stock as can 
be fed largely from these waste materials is losing an 
easy opportunity to make money. Frequently the 
amount to be made in this way would represent a fair 
profit on the farm business. 

It is not always practicable to utilize, in the manner 
above suggested, all the cornstalks, straw, etc., produced 



224 Farm Science 

on the farm. These materials are not sufficiently nutri- 
tious to constitute the entire ration of farm animals. 
A farm that devotes practically all its land to wheat, 
as is the case with many farms in the Pacific Northwest 
and in the northern portion of the Plains Region, pro- 
duces enormous quantities of straw that can only be 
fed to advantage as a small part of the ration. There is 
nothing else on these farms to be fed with the straw. 
Under such conditions the farmer has no other recourse 
than to burn a large part of his straw. The amount 
of cornstalks produced on corn-belt farms is frequently 
so large that only a portion of them can be used as feed. 
In both these cases it may be possible sometime so to 
change the type of farming that other things can be 
grown to feed with the straw or cornstalks. 

In most cases it is necessary to feed some valuable 
materials along with the waste materials of the farm in 
order to keep the stock in proper condition. It usually 
pays well to do this. If the stock produce enough 
to pay a little more than the value of the salable feed 
given them, and pay the other expenses of their keep, 
there is profit in keeping them. 

Livestock as a means of winter employment. New 
Englanders sometimes remark that they have only 
three seasons : July, August, and winter. This is merely 
a joking way of referring to their long winters. In the 
far northern states the farmer can find work in his fields 
only about half the year. He cannot afford to be idle 
the remainder of the time, hence he tries to follow a 
type of farming that will give him winter work. The 
great majority of these farmers keep enough dairy cows 



Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept 225 




Fig. 113. The owner of this farm keeps dairy cows for the employment 
they give in winter. 

to give them employment during the winter months. 
(See Figure 113.) A few find other ways of earning 
something at this season. 

Even if the farmer cannot earn full wages for his 
work with a herd of cows during the winter, it may still 
pay to keep them, for whatever income the herd produces 
over the actual cost of its keep is just that much added 
to the farm income. This is true, of course, only where 
the farmer cannot find other work at which he could 
earn better wages. 

The necessity for winter employment on something 
other than crops is largely responsible for the fact that, 
in both Europe and America, livestock are more impor- 
tant in the North than in the South. 

Adding to the size of the farm business. A one-man 
farm should have enough work to keep the man well 
employed at all times, so that he may have a chance to 
utilize his full earning capacity ; similarly, a two-man 



226 Farm Science 

farm should provide work for two men ; and so on. 
Often, however, a farm is too small to give full employ- 
ment on crops alone. The addition of some kind of 
livestock will give more work, and if the stock pay 
anything more than the actual cash outlay they require, 
including the value of salable products fed them, their 
presence will add to the farm income. For this reason 
many small farms keep all the stock they can carry. 
It is possible in this way to convert a one-man crop farm 
into a two- or even three-man crop and stock farm. 
If the livestock are at all profitable, this will add ma- 
terially to the profits of the business. We shall later 
learn that a two-man farm has important advantages 
over a one-man farm. 

Livestock as a market for crops. A farmer who 
thoroughly understands the management of livestock 
can often get more for his hay, corn, etc., by feeding 
than by selling them. For instance, in many Western 
localities alfalfa hay has at times sold for less than 
$7 a ton. When this hay is properly fed to good dairy 
cows, a ton of it will make $12 to $15 worth of milk, 
or even more where milk is a good price. Under such 
conditions it is more profitable to feed the hay than to 
sell it. Even if it returned less than what it would sell 
for, it might still pay to feed it because of the additional 
employment the cows give and the manure they pro- 
duce. 

Another reason why it sometimes pays to feed rather 
than sell hay or grain is that the resulting animal product 
weighs less, and hence costs less to ship to market. Thus 
10 bushels of corn, weighing 560 pounds, will produce 



Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept 227 

100 pounds increase in live weight if properly fed to 
hogs. It costs less to ship the hogs to market than the 
corn. If the farm is situated a long distance from 
market, this may become an important matter. 

Livestock as fertility producers. Many farmers keep 
livestock largely because of the fact that it gives them a 
supply of manure with which to keep up the yielding 
power of the soil. It may pay to do this even when the 
returns from the feed used are less than the price at 
which the feed might be sold. I once visited two ad- 
joining farms in Illinois, both of which had about half 
their land in corn. One farmer sold all his corn, kept 
no livestock except work animals, and got about 35 
bushels of corn per acre. The other fed all his corn to 
well-bred livestock, took good care of the manure, and 
got 80 bushels of corn per acre. It happened in this 
case that both farmers got about the same price for their 
corn ; but it is easily seen that 80 bushels of corn per 
acre, even at 40 cents a bushel, brings in more money 
than 35 bushels at 60 cents. This is an extreme case, 
for the difference in yield is not often as great as this 
between two similar farms, one of which keeps livestock 
and the other does not. But when the farmer makes 
proper use of manure, the increase in the yield of his 
crops may justify feeding under conditions that will 
return less for the feed than it would sell for. 

Very little definite information is available concern- 
ing the actual value of manure on the farm. Much 
depends on how the manure is handled, on the kind of 
soil and its previous treatment, and the kind of crops 
to which it is applied, as well as the price of farm 



228 



Farm Science 




114. Plant food wa-^i 111;: 
the world goes hungry. 



products. When manure 
is allowed to lie exposed 
to the weather for weeks 
or months, as was the 
case on the farm on which 
the picture shown in Fig- 
ure 114 was taken, it 
loses much of its value. 

In a farm-management 
survey in Pennsylvania, 
it was found that when 
the yields on 94 farms 
keeping much livestock 
were compared with those on 94 farms keeping little 
livestock, the increase in crop values on the farms 
having most stock amounted to $15 for every thousand- 
pound animal on the farm. In other words, on this 
group of farms the farmers actually obtained $15 
per year for the manure of each animal they kept. In 
similar studies in Michigan the amount was $8, and in 
southwest Missouri $5. The Michigan farmers keep 
many hogs and relatively few cattle, and do not put on 
to the land as large a proportion of the manure produced 
as do the Pennsylvania farmers. The jNIissouri farmers 
did not take very good care of the manure. 

The variation in the above values for manure shows 
the necessity for the use of judgment on the part of the 
farmer. There are localities, especially where the prin- 
cipal crops are garden vegetables, or other crops that 
produce large values per acre, where manure is undoubt- 
edly worth more than the highest of these figures. But 



Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept 229 

in the dry-farming districts of the West manure may 
even be harmful unless it is applied with great skill. 
It may cause the land to become so loose that it will 
rapidly dry out. 

As a general rule manure has a high value where the 
soil has been farmed a long time, especially if it has 
lost much of its original fertihty, and where the rainfall 
is considerable. Under such conditions the farmer may 
fmd it profitable to feed livestock even if he does not 
get back the full value of the feed used. The loss 
may be more than made up in the increased yield of 
crops. 

RAISING YOUNG ANIMALS TO SELL AS BREEDERS 

Conditions necessary for success. To make a suc- 
cess of the business of raising animals for sale as breeders, 
the first requisite is that the animals must be of superior 
quality as compared with the common run of farm ani- 
mals. They must also belong to some of the recognized 
improved breeds. Unless these two conditions are met, 
farmers will ordinarily not buy the animals for breeding 
purposes. The breed should be one that is in demand 
in the locality, for there will then be more buyers. 

The farmer who engages in this business must have 
a distinct liking for the kind of anunals he keeps, and 
must have decided ability as a breeder and as a salesman. 
Nearly all successful breeders begin in a small way 
with good stock bought at moderate prices. As their 
reputations grow, and they are able to get better and 
better prices for their young stock, they buy better 
stock themselves at higher prices than they could at 



230 Farm Science 

first afford to pay. The most successful of these men 
finally get to the point where most of their young stock 
is sold at very high prices to other breeders rather than to 
farmers raising animals for meat or other products. 

Not every farmer has the ability to become a successful 
breeder. It is necessary that the majority of stockmen 
engage in the production of meat, milk, wool, etc. But 
in every community where livestock are at all common 
there is room for a few men to engage in the business of 
raising breeding stock for others. The number of men 
in this business is not as large as it ought to be, partly 
because so many farmers will not pay a little extra for 
good breeding stock. This is a great mistake, for it 
pays well to have good stock. They produce more and 
better products, which sell at higher prices. 

Registration. The adherents of each of the leading 
breeds of livestock in this country have organized asso- 
ciations for the purpose of furthering the interests of 
the breed. Each of these associations keeps a record 
of the pedigree of the animals belonging to the particu- 
lar breed in which the association is interested. These 
records include a brief description of each animal, the 
date of its birth, the name and registry number of its 
sire and dam, and the name of the breeder. To be ad- 
mitted to registration in these records an animal must 
conform to the recognized characteristics of the breed, 
and both its sire and dam must have been registered. 
When an animal has been accepted for registration it is 
given a number, and the owner is furnished with a 
" certificate of registration," which contains the de- 
scription of the animal, its registry number, its name, 



Purposes for Which Livestock Are Kept 231 

the name and registry number of its sire and dam, and 
a statement signed by the secretary of the association 
to the effect that the animal has been accepted for regis- 
tration as a representative of the breed. The essential 
features of a registration certificate are shown below. 





Certificate of Registration 




The American Duroc 


-Jersey Swine Breeders' Association . 


Name 


No. 


Farrowed 


Litter 


Bred by 




P.O. 








Sold to 




P.O. 




Date 


Resold to 




P.O. 




Date 










(Sire 


No. 






(Sire 


No. 


(Dam 


No. 






(Bred by 








Sire 


No. 


( 








Owned by 




(Dam 


No. 


(Sire 


No. 


Bred by 




(Bred by 




(Dam 

(Sire 


No. 
No. 






(Sire 


No. 


(Dam 


No. 






(Bred by 








Dam 


No. 


( 








OwTied by 




(Dam 


No. 


(Sire 


No. 


Bred by 




(Bred by 




(Dam 


No. 


The original pedigree 


' for this Certificate has been 


filed and 


accepted for 


Registration and we certify 


this to be 


true and 


correct. 












Secretary 


's Office 






Robert 


J. Evans 


817 Exchange Ave 








Secretary 


Chicago, 


111. 


DATE 









Some breeders do not register their young stock until 
they sell them as breeders or decide to use them them- 
selves for breeding purposes. When they sell an unregis- 



232 Farm Science 

tered animal, they furnish the buyer a signed paper giv- 
ing all the information necessary for registration. The 
new owner, if he so chooses, sends this paper to the secre- 
tary of the association and gets the certificate of regis- 
tration. 

These associations charge a small fee for registering 
animals, as a means of defraying the expenses of the 
association. 

It is essential that every farmer who raises stock to 
sell as breeders should keep his own breeding stock 
registered in order to enable his patrons to register the 
animals they buy of him if they wish to do so. 

Class Exercise 

Take a census of all the livestock on the farms of the neigh- 
borhood of the school, noting the purposes for which the 
animals are kept. 

What percentage of the horses, cattle, hogs, and sheep 
on these farms is purebred? high grade? low grade? mon- 
grel? scrubs? To what breeds do they belong? Get each 
farmer's reasons for preferring the breeds he keeps. 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

BREEDS OF LIVESTOCK 

Definition of terms. If the sire and the dam of an 
animal — that is, its father and mother — both belong 
to the same recognized breed, the animal is said to be 
a purebred, or fullblood. 

If one parent is purebred while the other belongs to 
no particular breed, the animal is said to be a grade of 
the breed represented by the purebred parent. Thus, 
a calf from a Shorthorn bull and a scrub cow is a grade 
Shorthorn. 

Animals that have in them the blood of several of 
the recognized breeds but in which the blood of a par- 
ticular breed predominates are also called grades. If 
in such a combination the blood of no particular breed 
predominates, the animals are mongrels. 

A high grade is a grade the blood of which is more than 
half of some recognized breed. Thus a three-quarters 
Shorthorn is a high-grade Shorthorn. 

Crossbreds are animals whose parents are purebred, 
but of different breeds. 

The term scrub is applied to animals that do not con- 
tain any considerable proportion of the blood of any 
recognized breed. 

The greater part of American farm animals are grades 
of the various improved breeds. 

Relative value of grades and purebreds. For the 
production of meat, milk, wool, etc., high-grade or cross- 
bred animals may be just as valuable as purebreds ; 
but for breeding purposes they are vastly inferior. 

233 



234 Farm Science 

Grades and crossbreds inherit different characteristics 
from their two parents. Now a hereditary quality 
inherited from both parents is transmitted to all offspring. 
But if a quality is inherited from one parent only, it 
will be transmitted to only about half the offspring. 
In the offspring of crossbred animals there is likely to 
occur any particular combination of the qualities of the 
original parents of the crossbred animals. The progeny 
of crossbreds and grades are therefore not dependable. 
It often happens that no two of such offspring, even 
from the same parents, are alike. 

A very interesting example of what may happen when 
crossbred animals are used for breeding purposes is 
illustrated by the cross between the European wild hog 
and our common domesticated hogs. The wild hog 
has a very small stomach, and a correspondingly small 
appetite. The crossbred pigs are very much like the 
wild parent, and are thrifty. But among the progeny 
of these crossbred animals there are likely to be some 
individuals that inherit the small stomach of the wild 
hog along with the enormous appetite of the domesti- 
cated hog. These individuals kill themselves by over- 
eating. 

Importance of purebred sires. When grades or 
scrubs are mated with purebreds, the offspring are usually 
much like the purebred parent. It is therefore impor- 
tant that at least one of the parents should be purebred. 
Since the sire is half the herd from the standpoint of 
breeding, it is a matter of great importance that the 
farmer who wants to raise good animals should use 
purebred sires. 



Breeds of Livestock 235 

Difference between purebred and wellbred. It must 
not be supposed that the breeders of any breed have 
succeeded in getting high quality in all the animals of 
the breed. Every breed has in it some animals that 
are no credit to it. It is therefore not enough that an 
animal be merely purebred ; it must be wellbred. This 
means that it must have inherited from its parents 
those qualities possessed by the best animals of the breed. 
The mere fact that an animal is a purebred, or even a 
registered, Jersey does not insure that it possesses high 
dairy quality, for there are poor dairy cows even in this 
breed. The same is true of all the dairy breeds. To be 
successful as a breeder of livestock the farmer must 
learn to know a good animal when he sees one. It is 
true, however, that among purebreds one is much more 
likely to get what one wants in an animal than among 
grades, mongrels, or scrubs. 

BREEDS AND THEIR USES 
Cattle 

Distinction between beef and dairy cattle. Some 
of the improved breeds of cattle have been bred' for 
many generations for strictly beef purposes, without 
much attention to milking qualities, while others have 
been bred strictly for milk production, with little or no 
attention to their beef qualities. This has produced 
two very distinct types of cattle, the beef type and the 
dairy type. A real dairy cow, no matter how well 
fed, will convert most of her food into milk rather than 
into meat, provided, of course, she is in milk. A real 



2^6 



Farm Science 




Fig. lis. Shorthorn. 



Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. II 6. Hereford. 



beef cow, even when giving milk, will take on fat readily 
if abundantly fed. 

In the breeding of beef cattle much attention has been 
given to securing roundness and plumpness of form, 
with small bone ; while dairy cattle are angular and 
thin, with relatively large bone. 

Another very important difference between beef and 
dairy cattle relates to the parts of the body where the 
most of the fat meat is found. In well-bred beef cattle 
a large proportion of the fat is found scattered in thin 
layers between the lean meat. This gives the meat a 
fine flavor. Dairy cattle place most of their fat, when 
they do get fat, inside the main cavity of the body 
around the kidneys, intestines, and other organs. 

Beef breeds. The breed of beef cattle most commonly 
found in this country is the Shorthorn, formerly called 
the Durham (Fig. 115). They originated in Durham 
and surrounding counties in England. They are large 
cattle, red," red and white spotted, roan, or white in 
color, having rather small horns. Some strains of this 
breed incline more or less to the dairy type, and there 
are some good dairy cows among them. 



Breeds of Livestock 



237 




Bureau of Animal Industry, U . S. D. A. 
Fig. 117. Aberdeen- Angus. 



The next most promi- 
nent beef breed is the 
Hereford (Fig. 116), large 
red cattle, with white 
faces and more or less 
white on other parts of 
the body. They have 
rather large horns. They 
originated in Hereford 
County, England. 

The third most prominent beef breed is the Aber- 
deen-Angus (Fig. I"! 7), a breed of cattle coming from 
northern Scotland. They are black and hornless. 
When fat, their bodies are very round and plump. 
Their hides make good robes. 

The Galloway is a breed much like the Angus, and 
came from a near-by locahty in Scotland. Their coat 
is composed of rather long hair, and their hides make 
finer robes than buffalo hides. 

The Polled Durham is a breed of polled, or hornless, 
beef cattle, developed in this country in two ways. 
Some of the originators of this- breed began by crossing 
Shorthorn cattle with native muleys (hornless cattle). 
From this cross many excellent polled cattle have de- 
scended. Others began by taking the occasional polled 
animals that occur in the Shorthorn breed, just as they 
do in nearly all breeds of horned cattle. From these 
pure Shorthorns they have developed well-known fami- 
lies of Polled Durhams. The characteristics of this 
breed are similar to those of the Shorthorn except for 
the horns. 



238 



Farm Science 




J . E. C!ri-c)u\ Muncie, Ind. 
Fig. ii8. Polled Hereford. 



Polled Herefords (Fig. 
1 1 8) originated in much 
the same way as the Polled 
Durhams. Some breeders 
searched the Hereford 
Ijreed for hornless animals, 
finding a few of them. 
Others crossed Herefords 
with Polled Durhams to 
start with. 

From the above it is seen that some Polled Durhams 
are also pure Shorthorns. Similarly, some Polled Here- 
fords are pure Herefords. These animals that belong 
to two breeds are called double standard cattle. 

There was a time when cattle needed horns with which 
to defend themselves against wild animals. But that 
time is past. The absence of horns is now a matter of 
considerable value, — so much so, in fact, that many 
horned cattle are dehorned to keep them from hurting 
each other. 

Brahmin cattle (Fig. 119), a breed from India, have 
been introduced into 
Texas and to some ex- 
tent in other sections of 
the South. Their thick 
skin protects them from 
ticks, and in tick-infested 
regions they make much 
more rapid growth than 
ordinary cattle. They 

Fig. iig. Brahmin, the sacred cow 

have a fleshy hump over of India. 




Breeds of Livestock 



239 




Fig. 120. Tilly Alcartra, a California 
Holstcin that gave 30,541 pounds of 
milk in a year. 



the shoulders and an enor- 
mous dewlap, or fold of skin 
on the lower margin of the 
neck. While they are used 
mainly for beef production, 
some of the cows are good 
milkers. They cross 
readily with the ordinary 
breeds, and even low grades 
frequently show marked in- 
dications of Brahmin blood. 

Dairy breeds. The leading dairy breeds of this coun- 
try are the Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, and Ayrshire. 

Holsteins (Fig. 120) are large, angular, black and white 
cattle that give a very large quantity of rather thin 
milk. They came from Holland and northwestern Ger- 
many. On the average they give as much butter as any 
breed, if not more. This breed is rapidly growing in 
popularity, especially in the northern and central parts of 
this country. Some Holstein breeders are giving atten- 
tion to the richness of the milk their cows give. By the 
use of sires from families noted for richness of milk, 
much is being accomplished in this direction. Holsteins 
are especially popular among farmers who ship milk 
to the cities, on account of the large amount of milk the 
cows give. 

One breeder of Holsteins some years ago made a care- 
ful search of the breed for polled Holsteins. He found 
over forty hornless animals of this breed and was able 
to buy nearly all of them. When he got them together 
and studied their pedigrees he found they were all de- 



240 



Farm Science 




Dairy Division, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 121. Bosnian's Anna, a famous 
Jersey cow, owned in New Jersey. 



scended from a single cow a 
few generations back. Part 
of these cows give milk that 
is quite rich. This breeder 
is rendering great service 
to this noble breed of 
animals. By proper use of 
breeding stock from this 
herd the whole breed can 
be dehorned in a few generations. 

Jerseys (Fig. 121) are small cattle that give very rich 
milk. In color they vary from yellow to red or even 
nearly black. Formerly there were many Jerseys 
spotted with white, but in recent years this color has 
been unpopular, and is now seldom seen. While this 
breed is found in all parts of the country, it seems to 
outdistance all others in the South. It comes from the 
island of Jersey, lying between England and France. 
These cattle grow somewhat larger in this country than 
they do on their native island. 

There is also a polled branch of this breed, started 
some years ago by crossing with native muleys in this 
country. 

Guernseys (Fig. 122) come from the island of Guernsey, 
situated near the island of Jersey. Guernseys and Jer- 
seys were considered one breed until about the middle of 
the last century.' They are much alike. Guernseys are 
somewhat larger than Jerseys, give a little more milk 
not quite so rich, and the butter made from their milk 
is yellower than that of any other breed. Guernseys 
rarely ever have black noses, while Jerseys nearly 



Breeds of Livestock 



241 




Dairy Division, U . S. D. A. 
Fig. 122. Glencoe's Bopeep, a well- 
known Guernsey cow, owned in Iowa. 



always do. The breeders 
of Guernseys have never 
made the mistake of in- 
sisting on solid color, so 
that Guernsey cows are 
usually spotted with 
white. This has given 
the breed an advantage 
which has been fully 
utilized. No breed can 
afford to sacrifice its best animals for a fancy point 
such as color. 

Thus far there is no polled branch of the Guernsey 
breed. 

Ayrshires (Fig. 123) are a breed of dairy cattle com- 
ing from Scotland. They are especially popular in 
New England, though they are found more or less in 
all parts of the country. They are red (or brindle) 
and white spotted, often nearly white. Their horns 
stand up in a manner 
peculiar to the breed and 
easily recognized by any 
one familiar with these 
cattle. They do not give 
so much milk as the Hol- 
steins nor such rich milk 
as Jerseys or Guernseys, 

but do especially well in Dairy Division, u. S. D. A. 

hilly regions like their Fig. 123. Ayrshire cow, Lily of Willow- 
native home in Scot- "^'^°^< owned in state of Washington. 

This cow gave 955 pounds of butter fat 
land. in a year. 




242 



Farm Science 




Animal Uuibaiidry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 124. Red Poll cow Liza; an 
Iowa prize winner. 



Another breed of dairy 
cattle found in small num- 
bers in some parts of this 
country is the Dutch 
Belted. They are of the 
same original ancestry as 
the Holsteins, and are 
much like the latter, ex- 
cept that the white on 
them is confined to a strip 
around the middle of the body. This gives them the 
appearance of black cattle with a white cloth tied around 
the body. It is usually a difficult matter to keep a 
breed true to a color character of this kind and at the 
same time improve its other qualities. Very few such 
breeds have ever risen to prominence. 

General purpose breeds. The Red Polls and the 
Brown Swiss are two breeds of cattle more or less 
common in this country, that are intermediate between 
the strictly beef and the strictly dairy breeds. 

The Red Polls (Fig. 124) are a deep, rich red in color, 
and are hornless, as the name suggests. There are 
many good dairy cows in the breed, but many others 
are of the beef type, and these are not good milkers. 
They' came originally from England. In some parts 
of the country these cattle are popular among farmers 
who want to combine beef production with dairying, 
but are not so desirable for dairy purposes as the real 
dairy breeds. 

The Brown Swiss, as the name indicates, came from 
Switzerland. This breed has become fairly common in 



Breeds of Livestock 243 

some parts of the country. In color they closely re- 
semble Jerseys, but are much fleshier. They serve 
about the same purpose as the Red Polls, but on the 
average are somewhat better milkers. 

The Devon is another breed intermediate in type 
between the beef and dairy breeds. They are a deep, 
rich red, with rather long, slender horns. Most of the 
Devon cattle in this country are found in the Atlantic 
Coast states. They are less common now than for- 
merly. The native home of the Devon is England. 

iMany other breeds of cattle are found in various parts 
of the world, and in small numbers in this country. 
The same is true of all other kinds of stock. 

Horses 

On the majority of farms horses are kept only for 
work. The number of colts raised per farm is small, 
and these are usually from mares kept mainly as work 
animals. Under such conditions the farmer hesitates 
to go to the expense of purchasing or even patronizing 
purebred stallions. For this reason a much smaller 
proportion of American farm horses are purebreds 
than is the case with cattle. A large proportion of the 
stallions used are at best only grades, and many of 
them are veritable scrubs. Farmers feel they can 
hardly afford to use high-priced purebred animals 
for ordinary farm work. There is no question, however, 
but what purebred animals would be profitable for the 
farmer who is in a position to make a business of growing 
colts for sale, because of the much larger price he could 
get for them. 



244 



Farm Science 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 125. An Illinois draft horse of 
the Percheron breed. 



Under the conditions 
above described it is 
natural that the various 
recognized breeds of horses 
should be less widely 
known among farmers than 
is the case with other 
classes of farm animals. 

The recognized breeds 
of horses may be divided 
into two great groups, one 
represented by the large 
animals constituting the draft breeds, the other by the 
smaller animals. 

Draft breeds. The principal draft breeds found in 
this country are the Clydesdale, from Scotland ; the 
Shire, from England ; the Percheron, from France 
(Fig. 125) ; and the Belgian, from Belgium. Norman 
horses are in this country included with the Percherons. 
They come from another part of France. The horses 
of all these breeds are large and powerful, and are much 
used as draft animals in cities. They are used for farm 
work for the most part only by farmers who make a 
business of raising colts for sale. 

Light breeds. The leading breeds of light horses 
in this country are the Thoroughbred, or English Race 
Horse; the American Trotter (Fig. 126), descended 
mostly from the Thoroughbred ; the American Saddle 
Horse, also descended from the Thoroughbred and from 
representatives of the Trotter ; and the following breeds 
of coach horses : Hackney and Cleveland Bay, both 



Breeds of Livestock 



245 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. 126. Jackdaw, a Kansas-owned 
standard-bred trotter. 



English in origin ; French 
Coach ; and German 
Coach. Since the advent 
of the automobile the 
coach horse is less used 
than formerly. 

The English race horse 
was the first breed of any 
kind of farm livestock for 
which a system of regis- 
tration was established. 
This is how these horses 
came to appropriate the name Thoroughbred. 

The American trotter is the best known of any of the 
breeds of light horses. In some parts of the country, 
especially in Virginia and Kentucky, they are found 
on many farms. 

The American saddle horse is found most generally in 
Kentucky. To be admitted to registry in this breed a 
horse, in addition to being a good walker, must be able 
to trot, rack (rapid pace), and canter (slow gallop), 
and be able to exhibit either the running walk (fox trot), 
slow pace, or fast trot. 

The three breeds last mentioned all trace back to the 
famous Arab horses of Arabia and Persia. All the 
heavy breeds trace back to the large horses found in 
Belgium at the beginning of modern history. 

Ponies. While ponies are not used as farm horses 
in this country, they are common enough to deserve 
mention. Farms are found here and there that make 
a business of raising Shetland ponies, chiefly as pets 



246 



Farm Science 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 127. Shetland pony. 



for city children. 
There are several 
breeds of these small 
horses, the most prom- 
inent being that from 
the Shetland Islands, 
off the coast of Scot- 
land. (See Figure 
127.) It is commonly 
supposed that ponies 
tend to increase in size when kept in this country for 
several generations, but the largest breeder of ponies in 
the United States claims that this is not the case. He 
has ponies as small as any found in their native home. 
Mustangs and cayuses. The mustangs, now more 
frequently called broncos, are not a recognized breed, 
but are a recognized type. They are the small, tough 
horses found in Texas and surrounding states. They 
are descended from the horses brought over to Mexico by 
the early Spanish settlers. Another offshoot of this same 
stock is the Indian pony of the Pacific Northwest. In 
that region they are called cayuses (ki-us'es), the Indian 
name for them. Cayuses have better dispositions than 
broncos. 

The great majority of American farm horses are de- 
scended from horses brought to this country by the 
early settlers along the Atlantic coast. They are of no 
particular breed, but are gradually being graded up by 
the use of stallions of the recognized breeds. 

The automobile and the tractor are beginning to lessen 
the demand for horses. 



Breeds of Livestock 



247 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 



Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 



Fig. 128. Duroc Jersey, a red hog. Fig. 129. Berkshire, black with white 

points, dish faced. 

Swine 

There are so many breeds of swine, differing so little 
in essential characteristics, that it is unnecessary here 
to speak of each of them. A few of the more impor- 
tant will be mentioned briefly. Most of the hogs of 
this country are either grades or purebreds of some of 
the recognized breeds. 

The leading breeds are the Duroc Jersey (Fig. 128), 
a red breed, the Berkshire (Fig. 129), and the Poland 
China (Fig. 130), both black breeds with white " points " ; 
that is, they have white feet, a white star in the forehead, 
and white on the tip of the tail. The Berkshire has a 
dish face. Yorkshires are white, dish-faced hogs, found 
frequently in the north- 
ern states. The Chester 
White is another white 
breed common in the 
North. WTiite hogs do 
not do well in the hot 
summers of the South. 

r—,, , ,. in ryi Animal Husbondrv, U. S. D. A. 

They blister badly. Ihe ^ t, , , ^u- '. ■ , • , 

•' ^ ^ -^ Fig. 130. Poland China, black with 

Hampshire is a breed white points. 









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" 


'*,.•?' it" • -'■'■" 



248 



Farm Science 




Fig. 131. Bones from 

foot of mulefoot hog. 

The end bone consists 

of two bones grown orrnr 

together. 



similar in color to Dutch Belted 
cattle. They are black with a white 
belt at the shoulders (not at the 
middle of the body as in the Dutch 
Belted cattle). 

The main thing in the raising 
of hogs is to have sows that bring 
large litters and raise them. Duroc 
Jersey and Berkshire sows have good 
reputations in this respect, though 
the Poland China does about as well 
in the hands of a careful breeder. 
Poland Chinas are lazy, Berkshires 
are very active, and Durocs are 
intermediate in this respect. 

Mulefoot hogs have the bones 
of the two main toes on each foot 
united into a single toe (Fig. 131). 
Many farmers think mulefoot hogs 
will not have cholera, but in this 
they are mistaken. 

Numerous other breeds of hogs 
in small numbers in this 
country. 



Sheep 

The many breeds of sheep in this country may be divided 
into wool types (Fig. 133) and mutton types (Fig. 132). 
The mutton types may be again divided into those with 
long, coarse wool and those with wool of medium length 
and hneness. The wool types have fine, short wool. 



Breeds of Livestock 



249 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 132. Shropshire, one of the 
mutton breeds. 



Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 133. Merino, a wool breed. 



The wool types, or fine wool types as they are fre- 
quently called, are all descended from the old Spanish 
Merino. They are small sheep, and do not make the 
best of mutton. Before the recent rise in the price 
of all kinds of meat the Merinos outnumbered all other 
breeds together in this country. They were almost 
universal on the Western ranges. There are many more 
or less distinct breeds of Merinos. 

The principal medium-wool mutton breeds are the 
Shropshire, Oxford, Southdown, Hampshire, Dorset, 
and Cheviot, all of EngHsh origin. 

The leading long-wool mutton breeds are the Cotswold, 
Lincoln, and Leicester, all from England. 

Merino sheep have been herded on ranges from time 
immemorial, while the mutton breeds of EngHsh origin 
have been reared on farms. Ranchmen in the West 
find that when they introduce much of the blood of the 
English breeds into their flocks, as they have done to 
a considerable extent in recent years, the sheep do not 
stay together well in large flocks, but tend to straggle off 
in small bunches. This makes it difficult to herd them. 



250 



Farm Science 




Animal Husbandry, U. 5. V. A. 
Fig. 134. Common goat. 



Goals 
The common goats of the country are kept in small 
numbers on farms here and there, mainly as pets. They 

are much more common in 
the South than elsewhere. 
Their only commercial product 
is meat, which, in young 
animals, is excellent. On 
farms having little livestock 
a few goats can be kept at 
small expense, and the kids 
sell readily for mutton. (See 
Figure 134.) 

On the Western ranges, and occasionally on farms, 
flocks of Angora goats occur (Fig. 168, page 319). This 
is an improved breed, noted for the great length and fine 
quality of its fleece, which is called mohair. This breed 
came originally from the province of Angora in Asiatic 
Turkey. There are many more Angoras in this country 
than there are of the common goat, but they are not so 
widely distributed. 

A few representatives 
of milk breeds of goats 
from Asia and Europe 
have been brought to 
this country, but they 
are as yet of little im- 
portance. Some of them 
give large quantities of 
milk, especially valuable •'"'"'"' ^"^*'""'^>' ^- s- d. a. 

. • 1 1 . r ^^'^' ^•^^' ^'"^o Cromwell, a Kansas- 

for sickly mfantS. owned Angora. 




Breeds of Livestock 251 

Poultry 

At the census of 19 10 the number of the different 
kinds of poultry in this country was as follows : 

Chickens 280,345,133 

Geese 4,431,980 

Turkeys 3,698,708 

Ducks 2,906,525 

Pigeons 2,730,994 

Guineas 1,765,031 

Peafowls 6,458 

Ostriches 5,361 

As compared with the previous census the number of 
chickens was 20 per cent greater; geese 22 per cent, 
turkeys 44 per cent, and ducks 39 per cent fewer. Os- 
triches increased considerably in number. They are 
found in southern California and in Florida. They are 
not financially profitable in this country except as 
show birds. Pigeons, guineas, and peafowls were not 
included in the census for 1900. Chickens constitute 
95 per cent of all the fowls kept on American farms, 
and these figures show that this percentage is increasing. 

Breeds of Chickens 

There are about forty distinct breeds of chickens in 
this country, and each breed is split up into varieties 
differing from each other mainly in color and in the 
character of the comb. The principal color varieties 
found are white, black, buff or red, barred, laced, 
speckled, etc. The types of comb are plain, rose, pea, 
walnut, and V-shaped. Only plain and rose comb are 
common. 



252 



Farm Science 







•jtM^"' 



While there are many poultry-breeding associations, 
there is no means provided for registering individual 

birds, because under farm 
conditions it is not ordinarily 
practicable to know the exact 
parentage of each bird. In- 
stead of registration books, 
the American Poultry Asso- 
ciation has established what 
it calls Standards of Excel- 
lence, to which birds must 
conform before they are 
admitted to the poultry shows. 
Fig. 136. Barred Plymouth Rock, j^^^^ standards relate mainly 

a general purpose fowl. "^ 

to color, shape of the comb, 
size and shape of the body, constitutional vigor, etc. The 
breeding associations are now beginning to give more 
attention to such qualities as egg laying, value for meat, 
etc. The farm poultry of this country would today 
be much more valuable to the farmer if these associations 
had always given as much attention to useful qualities 
as they have to " fancy points." 

The various breeds of chickens may be divided into 
four main groups ; namely, general purpose breeds, 
egg breeds, meat breeds, and fancy breeds. 

General purpose breeds. The birds of these breeds 
are of medium size, are good layers, the hens sit 
well, and the young birds are excellent for the 
table. For an ordinary-sized farm flock they are 
perhaps the best types for the farmer. The best 
of them produce nearly as many eggs as the best 



Breeds of Livestock 



253 




■^^^^« 



Fig. 137. Lady Eglantine, a Mary- 
land-owned White Leghorn. This 
hen laid 314 eggs in one year, a 
world's record. 



of the egg breeds, they require less attention than the 
latter, and are readily salable at good prices for meat. 

Among the large number 
of breeds of this class the 
most important are the 
Plymouth Rocks (Fig. 136), 
Rhode Island Reds, and 
Wyandottes. Among the 
Plymouth Rocks the Barred 
variety is by far the most 
popular. It is one of the 
best farm birds in this 
country, though the Rhode 
Island Reds have been ad- 
vancing in favor rapidly in 
recent years. White Wyan- 
dottes are also favorites with many farmers. These three 
breeds are of American origin. The Orpingtons, of which 
there are several varieties, came from England, and are 
becoming fairly common in some parts of the country. 

Egg breeds. These are small to medium-sized birds, 
not very good as table birds, but noted for laying. 
The hens are seldom inclined to sit, so that they are 
specially adapted to farms which make a specialty of 
egg production and hatch eggs in incubators. Nearly 
all the large poultry plants keep birds of these breeds. 

The principal breeds of this class are the Leghorns, 
Minorcas, Andalusians, Hamburgs, and Spanish. All 
of these except the Hamburgs came originally from 
Italy or Spain, for which reason this class of breeds is 
frequently called IMediterraneans. 



254 



Farm Science 




Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 138. Light Brahmas, a meat breed. 

The Leghorns are by far the most popular of the egg 
breeds, especially White Leghorns. Lady Eglantine 
(Fig. 137), the bird that laid 314 eggs in a year, was 
a White Leghorn. The Brown Leghorn is also quite 
popular amongst poultrymen. It is noteworthy from 
the fact that in color and body form the Brown Leghorn 
is remarkably similar to the wild jungle fowl of India, 
which is supposed to be the original ancestor of our 
domesticated chickens. 

One variety of Andalusians, the Blue, is of interest 
from the fact that it does not breed true to color. For 
many years breeders have tried to fix the color of this 
variety, but it is now known that this is impossible. 
The blue birds are hybrids between black and white. 
If mated together one fourth of the progeny will be white, 
one fourth black, the remaining half being blue hybrids 
again. White Andalusians are not pure white, being 
more or less splashed with blue. 



Breeds of Livestock 



255 



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Meat breeds. These 
are large birds, mostly of 
Chinese origin. They 
are poor layers, mature 
slowly, but make ex- 
cellent eating. The hens 
are persistent sitters. 
The principal breeds are 
the Cochins, Brahmas 
(Fig. 138), Langshans, 
and F av o r e 1 1 e s (of 
French origin) . None 
of these breeds are com- 
mon on American farms, 
and their numbers are 
decreasing because of their low egg production. 

Fancy breeds. There are numerous breeds of chickens 
kept by poultry fanciers mostly to exhibit at poultry 
shows, but which are seldom found on the ordinary farm. 
The various varieties of Game chickens (Fig. 139) are 
included here. These birds (Gam.es) are noted for 
fighting. Their meat is also exceptionally line-flavored. 
Bantams also may be mentioned. They are extremely 
small chickens, kept merely as curiosities. 



Animal Husbandry, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. i3g. Game chicken, noted for its 
fighting qualities, and also for the fijie 
flavor of its iiesh. 



Class Exercise 

Estimate the average egg production per hen of the various 
farm flocks on several farms. Note the breeds of poultry 
kept. 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING 

Uses of food. Young animals need food to build 
the new body substance formed as they grow. But even 
in mature animals each of the cells of which the body 
is composed wastes away more or less as a result of the 
bodily activities or vital processes, and food is necessary 
to replace the materials thus lost. 

The animal body must also be kept warm. Food is 
burned in the body to accomplish this. How this 
burning takes place will be told shortly. 

Animals are also active beings. They do work, even 
if nothing more than moving themselves about, eating, 
etc. The heart works incessantly, pumping the blood 
through the blood vessels. A lot of work is done in 
breathing. The body can no more do this work with- 
out a supply of energy than can an engine turn ma- 
chinery without a source of energy. The burning of 
food in the body supplies the energy needed by the or- 
ganism. 

When food is supplied in abundance, some of it is 
converted into fat and stored in convenient places 
about the body for use at some future time when the 
supply of food may run short. This fat cannot be used 
for making new growth of bone, muscle, etc., but serves 
merely as fuel to furnish heat and energy. 

Combustion. Let us recall what was said about 
combustion in an earlier chapter (page 131). Combus- 
tion is merely another name for burning. It is impor- 
tant to understand what happens when anything burns. 
Wood contains much carbon and some hydrogen. 

256 



Principles of Feeding 257 

Both of these elements attract oxygen strongly. We 
have already learned that when carbon unites with 
oxygen it forms carbonic acid gas (CO2). When hydro- 
gen unites with oxygen it forms water (H2O). These 
chemical unions result in the production of enormous 
quantities of heat. If the burning is rapid, high tem- 
peratures are produced. If it takes place slowly, the 
heat is dissipated nearly as fast as it is formed, so that 
httle rise in temperature occurs. 

How an engine works. The fire in an engine is due 
to the chemical union of atmospheric oxygen with the 
carbon and hydrogen of the fuel. The resulting heat 
converts some of the water in the boiler into steam, 
which occupies a great deal more space than the water 
did. This causes great pressure within the boiler. 
Some of the steam is admitted into the cylinder and 
presses against the piston, causing it to move. This 
sets the flywheel in motion, and the engine is then in 
condition to do work. The energy of the fuel is thus 
transformed through several stages into motion of the 
flywheel. 

Production of heat and energy in the animal body. 
When food is taken into the digestive organs, it is more 
or less completely dissolved by the digestive juices. 
The solution passes by osmosis through the walls of 
the digestive organs and of the fine blood vessels in 
these walls, thus gaining admission into the blood. 
Oxygen from the air is taken into the blood in a similar 
manner in the lungs. In the blood the carbon and 
hydrogen of the food unite chemically with this oxygen, 
thus producing heat to keep the body warm, and energy 



258 Farm Science 

for the activities of the body, x^ctual combustion 
therefore takes place in the body. But this combus- 
tion is allowed to take place only slowly, so that the 
temperature may not become too high, and so that 
energy may be produced when and where it is needed. 
The complete story of the burning which takes place in 
our bodies is too long to tell here. It is one of the sub- 
jects constituting the science of physiology. 

Classes of food substances required by the animal 
body. For the proper nourishment of the animal 
body five classes of substances are necessary in the 
food. First, there must be nitrogenous substances ; 
that is, substances containing the element nitrogen, 
for every part of the body except the fat consists partly 
of nitrogen. These nitrogenous substances in food are 
known by the general name protein. 

Second, the food must contain a number of mineral 
substances, for the bones consist largely of mineral 
matter (mostly lime phosphate), and there is some 
mineral matter in every organ, even the red meat or 
muscles. Certain mineral substances, especially com- 
mon table salt (NaCl), also are required for the process 
of digestion. 

In the third place, the food must contain a large 
quantity of combustible material for the production 
of heat and energy. Substances like sugar and starch, 
which consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and 
which are called carbohydrates, serve well as fuel. Fats 
also serve for this purpose, for they are combustible. 
The nitrogenous substances of the food contain also 
carbon and hydrogen which may serve as fuel. 



Principles of Feeding 259 

Finally, there are at least two substances that we 
know very little about except that they are necessary in 
food, and that one of them is soluble in oils and fats, 
while the other is soluble in water. These substances 
have been given the general name vitamins. 

To recapitulate : Food must contain proteins, mineral 
substances, combustible materials, and two kinds of 
vitamins. 

Sources of the various food constituents. Proteins 
are found more or less in nearly all feeding stuffs, but 
are much more abundant in some than in others. They 
are especially abundant in the seeds, leaves, and stems 
of leguminous plants (page 148), and in certain mill by- 
products, such as cottonseed meal, linseed meal, gluten 
feed, etc. Milk contains them in about the proportion 
^needed. 

The animal body requires seventeen or eighteen dif- 
ferent protein combinations. Few feeding stuffs con- 
tain all of these, hence it is necessary to feed a variety 
of materials to insure that all necessary kinds are pro- 
vided. The soy bean and the peanut are not only rich 
in them, but they contain a wide variety of protein com- 
binations. The seeds of peas and beans are rich in 
protein, but do not contain all the kinds needed. Corn, 
wheat, and oats, though not rich in these substances, 
contain kinds lacking in peas and beans, and hence are 
good to mix with the latter. Root crops contain a good 
assortment of proteins, but not in large quantity. 

Corn stover and hay made from such grasses as 
timothy, red top, orchard grass, Johnson grass, and 
the like, are poor in protein. 



26o Farm Science 

The mineral substances required by the animal body 
are abundant in the leaves of plants, in milk, and in 
fruits. They are deficient in seeds and in root crops. 

The most common carbohydrates in feeding stuffs 
are starch, sugar, and cellulose (the substance of which 
the cell walls of plants are made). They are usually 
much more abundant than any other class of nutrients 
in common feeding stuffs. They are especially abun- 
dant in the seeds of corn, wheat, oats, and barley, in 
silage, and in non-leguminous hay. Milk contains con- 
siderable sugar. 

Fats, or oils, are abundant in certain kinds of seeds, 
especially soy beans, peanuts, and flaxseed. All com- 
mon feeding stuffs contain at least small quantities of 
oils. Milk contains from 3 to 6 per cent of butter fat. 
A pound of fat (oil) is equivalent to 2j pounds of starch 
or sugar in the amount of energy it furnishes when 
burned in the body. 

The fat-soluble vitamin is abundant in milk, egg 
yolk, and the leaves of plants. It is especially abundant 
in butter. It is lacking or present in only small amounts 
in most kinds of seeds, in vegetable oils, in lard, and in 
meats generally. 

The water-soluble vitamin is abundant in milk, egg 
yolk, seeds, and leaves. It is absent or in only small 
quantity in starch, sugar, fats, polished rice, and fish. 
It is the absence of this vitamin in polished rice that 
causes a serious disease known as beriberi in people who 
live largely on this article of food. 

Proportion of protein and fuel needed. The animal 
body needs much more fuel than it does protein, the 



Principles of Feeding 261 

proportion depending on age, work done, whether the 
animal is being fattened or merely kept in good growing 
condition, etc. Thus, a cow weighing 1000 pounds 
and giving 25 pounds of average milk, — that is, with 
an average amount of butter fat in it (about 4 per cent), 
— needs daily 1.85 pounds of digestible protein and 13.4 
pounds of digestible fuel, or about seven times as much 
fuel as protein. 

Young, growing animals need more protein in propor- 
tion than do mature animals. In the early stages of 
the fattening process more protein is needed than in 
the later stages after sufficient bone and muscle have 
been formed and all that remains is to put on fat. Cows 
giving milk need more protein than dry cows. 

Importance of variety in food. From the facts given 
above it is clear that it is important to feed a consider- 
able variety of materials in order to insure that all the 
kinds of nutriment required are provided. Animals 
grow tired of a ration that is fed a long time without 
change, unless by chance it should contain everything 
needed in the correct proportion. This is nature's way 
of insuring proper nutrition. When animals are allowed 
to choose from a large variety of feeding stuffs, they will 
naturally choose those that contain just what they need 
unless for some reason their appetites have been made 
abnormal. Milk is the only food that contains every- 
thing the animal body requires and in the right propor- 
tion. Few, if any, other feeding stuffs contain all the 
seventeen or eighteen protein combinations required. 
Hence the necessity of feeding a variety of materials, 
and of changing the ration occasionally. Such changes 



262 Farm Sc'ence 

should, of course, be made gradually, for sudden changes 
are likely to cause disorders of the digestive organs, — 
for one reason, because animals are likely to eat the new 
ration too greedily. This is especially true when the 
new ration happens to contain the nutrients lacking in 
the old. 

Classes of animals likely to need minerals. Horses, 
cattle, and sheep ordinarily get all the minerals they 
need in the coarse forage (hay, fodder, etc.) which they 
consume. These minerals are fairly abundant in the 
leafy portions of plants. But hogs and poultry consume 
relatively small quantities of leaves. The seeds on 
which they mostly feed are deficient in minerals. Wood 
ashes and ground raw bone are valuable additions to 
the ration in feeding hogs. Ground raw bone and 
oyster shells are valuable for poultry. 

Classes of feedstuffs. Feedstuffs may be divided 
into two general classes ; namely, roughage and con- 
centrates. Roughage consists of bulky feeds like hay, 
corn fodder, straw, etc. Concentrates consist of grains 
and such mill products as bran, oil meal, gluten, etc. 
Generally speaking, the concentrates contain both more 
protein and more fuel than roughage. Shelled corn 
contains about 8 per cent of digestible protein and 76 
per cent of digestible fuel. Timothy hay contains 3 
per cent of digestible protein and 44 per cent of digestible 
fuel. 

There is wide variation in the composition of both 
roughage and concentrates. In general, hay made 
from legumes, such as clover, alfklfa, cowpeas, etc., 
is much richer in protein than hay made from the true 



Principles of Feeding 263 

grasses, such as timothy, millet, Johnson grass, and the 
like. Certain mill products among the concentrates 
are extremely rich in protein. Cottonseed meal con- 
tains about 37 per cent, linseed oil meal about 27 per 
cent, and wheat bran about 12 per cent of digestible 
protein. 

Except in the West, where the principal hay is alfalfa, 
the common feeding stuffs raised on the farm usually 
contain rather too little protein, so that it is frequently 
necessary to buy mill products to enrich the ration in 
this class of nutrients. With plenty of good leguminous 
hay the amount of mill products required for this pur- 
pose is less than when only grass hay is available. 

Cows and sheep require large amounts of roughage 
in addition to plenty of concentrates. Their stomachs 
are so large that the bulky roughage is needed to fill 
them out and excite active secretion of digestive fluids. 
If fed concentrates alone, they are liable to get indiges- 
tion. Horses, when at hard work, require only about 
half as much roughage with a given amount of concen- 
trates as do cows, because the stomachs of horses are 
smaller. Hogs and chickens have small stomachs and 
require a larger proportion of concentrates. Both 
horses and cattle, when idle, and when not growing or 
being fattened, can be properly nourished on roughage 
alone if it is of good quahty, but under other conditions re- 
quire grain. Good pasture is so palatable and so easily 
digested that nearly all kinds of animals can eat enough 
of it to furnish them abundant nourishment. 



264 Farm Science 

Class Exercise 

List the rations fed all kinds of stock on near-by farms. 
Make a list of the feeding stuffs grown, and of those bought. 
Estimate as nearly as possible the quantity of each feeding 
stuff rec[uired by each kind of animal for a year, or for a feed- 
ing period in case of fattening animals. Find what it costs 
to feed an animal a year. 



PART FOUR — THE FARM 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

THE FARM BUSINESS 




I'lG. 140. All attracUsc country liiiiiio. 

A FARM is a place devoted to the conduct of a busi- 
ness based on the production of crops — for human food, 
for feeding livestock, or for use in making ck)thuig or 
other manufactured products. 

How farming differs from other kinds of business. 
A farm is not only a pkice for the conchict of a business ; 
it is also a home. This is not generally true of other 
businesses. Few businesses other than farming have 
such a home connected with them as the one shown in 
Figure 140. The farm business is such that some one 
must be on hand day and night to look after it. The 

265 



266 Farm Science 

farm animals must be fed and watered and kept out of 
mischief and danger. The growing crops must be pro- 
tected against stock running loose. Both crops and 
animals, as well as the farm machinery, must be guarded 
against theft. A city business is usually large enough 
to afford to employ some one to watch the premises at 
night, or is under the protection of the pohce. On the 
farm it is the people who do the work on the place who 
must do these things. 

Ev'en if caretakers were not needed on the farm, if 
those who do the farm work did not live on the farm 
they would lose much time in going to and from work, 
for there are usually no street cars in the country as 
there are in cities. 

The primary business of the farm. The primary 
business of the farm is to produce what those living 
on the farm require for their living. When the country 
was new, and there were no railroads, most farms pro- 
duced not only the food of the people who lived on them 
and the feed of the animals kept on them, but also the 
material for the clothing of the farm family and the 
hired help. With the development of railroads and 
other means of transportation the necessity for the pro- 
duction of everything needed on the farm became less 
urgent. Farmers could then devote more of their 
energies to the production of things for sale and use the 
money thus obtained for supplying things which formerly 
had to be produced at home. 

Advantages of producing home supplies. IMany 
farmers grow no garden, produce no fruit, and keep no 
animals for producing the meat and milk needed on the 



The Farm Business 



267 




^4 









t:^^3A 



Fig. 141. Every farm should have a vegetable garden and 
an orchard. 



farm. Instead they raise cotton, wheat, and other 
products for sale and depend on buying what they 
need. They claim they can sell cotton or wheat and 
buy butter, eggs, vegetables, and fruits more cheaply 
than they can raise them. Possibly in some cases this 
is true. But the fact remains that when an abundance 
of fruit, vegetables, eggs, etc., are produced on the farm, 
the farm family will have more of them to eat than is 
the case where these things must be bought. Not only 
that, but what they eat will be of better quality than 
when it is bought at the store. The standard of living 
on the farm corresponds very closely to the proportion 
of the food needed by the farm family that is supplied 
directly by the farm. The farmer whose orchard and 
garden are shown in Figure 141 has table luxuries for 
which few farmers, no matter how protltable their 
business, will spend their good money. 



268 Farm Science 

Secondary business of the farm. After producing 
what farm products are needed on the farm, or produc- 
ing things to be sold for the purpose of buying necessary 
things, the farm should produce things for sale in order 
that the farmer may have money with which to provide 
suitable education for his children, and provide his 
family with something more than the bare necessities 
of life. The farmer should also be able to lay by some- 
thing for his children, and to take care of himself and his 
wife in their old age. It is fortunate when the income 
from the farm business is large enough to enable the 
owner to give each of his children a comfortable home as 
they reach maturity and start out in business for them- 
selves. 

Why some farm products do not sell readily. Many 
years ago there was a farm located near a village of 
about a thousand people. There was a six-acre orchard 
and always an acre or more of garden on this farm. 
Usually there were more apples, potatoes, cabbages, 
onions, etc., than the farm family could consume, and 
the farmer would take the surplus to town and try to 
sell it. Usually he found the stores full of such things, 
and the merchants would not buy any more. He used 
to think it was mere meanness on the part of the mer- 
chants that made them refuse to buy his fruits and vege- 
tables ; they bought his wheat, corn, butter, eggs, and 
hogs readily enough. The merchants did not seem to 
care how much. good food material went to waste on 
near-by farms. 

But this was not entirely the fault of the merchants. 
True, they could have developed the business of shipping 



The Farm Business 269 

perishable farm produce to large cities near by, but 
even then there would have been times when the mar- 
kets even in these large cities were glutted with such 
things, so that shipments would not have sold for enough 
to pay the freight. The trouble was due to a different 
cause, as we shall see. 

Quantity of fruits and vegetables needed. Eighty 
acres of orchard, 40 acres of potatoes, and 30 acres of 
other vegetables will produce all the fruits and vege- 
tables needed by a village of 1000 people. Many people 
in such villages grow a good part of their own fruits 
and vegetables, so that the amount they need to buy 
from farmers in the surrounding country can be produced 
on less acreage than that given above. 

If the farms surrounding the village average 160 
acres in size, there would be 4 farms to the square mile. 
Within a radius of 7 miles of the village there would 
thus be about 600 farms. If the number of people on 
these farms averages 5, the total population to be fed, 
both in town and country, would be 4000. This would 
require 320 acres of all kinds of fruit, 160 acres of pota- 
toes, and 120 acres of all other vegetables, with average 
yields. This would be an average for each farm of 
about ^ acre of fruit, i acre of potatoes, and 3- acre of 
all other vegetables. It is easily seen that in a year of 
good crops, when each farm had acreages of fruits and 
vegetables such as the farm mentioned above, there 
would be more of these perishable products than the 
community could possibly consume. Nor could a large 
city begin to consume the surplus of such products pro- 
duced in the territory tributary to it. 



270 



Farm Science 



If the farmer cannot sell just anything of which he 
happens to produce a surplus, it should be helpful for 
us to consider briefly what he should produce for sale. 



WHAT CROPS THE FARMER SHOULD GROW 

Crops the farmer does grow. When we remember 
that most farmers experiment more or less with nearly 
all kinds of crops that can be grown in their region, we 
ought to be able to learn something of value by studying 
for a moment those crops that farmers generally have 
decided on as best for their conditions. The data in 
the following table show what the combined judgment 
of the farmers of this country has led them to grow. 
The figures relate to the census year 1909. 



Crops Acres 

Corn 98,382,665 

Hay 68,246,344 

Wheat 44,262,592 

Oats 35,159,441 

Cotton 32,043,838 

Barley 7,698,706 

Coarse forage . . . 4,034,432 

Rye 2,195,651 

Flax 2,110,517 



Crops 

Kafir and mile . 

Peas . . . . 

Tobacco . . . 

Fruits . . . . 

Potatoes . . . 

Sweet potatoes . 
Other vegetables 

All others . . . 

Total . . . . 



Acres 
1,635,153 
1,305,099 
1,294,911 
5,610,000 ^ 
3,668,855 

641,25s 
2,763,269 
6,577.560'' 

316,630,288 



From the figures above it is clear that farmers, tak- 
ing the country as a whole, have decided that the crops 
of which they should grow most are corn, hay, wheat, 
oats, and cotton. No other crop comes anywhere near 
these in acreage. Fruits occupy only about 2 per cent 
of our total crop area, potatoes about i per cent, and 

^ Bearing trees only. 2 includes non-bearing fruit trees. 



The Farm Business 271 







Fig. 142. Virginia cornfields. Eastern corn growers cut their corn lor fodder. 

other vegetables a httle less than i per cent. The 
number of farmers who can devote all or a major por- 
tion of their land to any crop other than corn, hay, 
wheat, oats, and cotton is relatively small. 

Very little corn is grown in this country north of a 
line connecting those points that have a mean summer 
temperature of 66 degrees. This line passes through 
northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. On the 
west, corn practically stops at the line connecting points 
having an average summer rainfall of 8 inches. West 
of this the nights are too cool for this crop. The 8-inch 
summer rainfall line runs north and south about the 
longitude of the western border of Kansas. Very little 
corn is grown west of this line. The real corn belt 
extends from Virginia and Maryland to Kansas and 
Nebraska. Figure 142 shows a scene in a portion of 
Virginia where corn is the leading crop. In the eastern 
part of the corn belt nearly all the corn is cut for fodder. 
In the western part much of it is husked from the stalk. 



272 



Farm Science 





Fig. 143. Haying in the state of Maine. Next to corn, hay occupies the 
largest acreage of any crop on American farms. 



Next to corn, hay occupies the largest acreage of any 
crop in this country. While it is grown all over the 
country more or less, it occupies the largest relative 
acreage in the Northeastern and Northern states and in 
the IMountain states. iMany different crops are grown 
for hay. Timothy and clover mixed occupies the 
largest area. This mixture is found mostly in the 
Northern and Northeastern states. Figure 143 shows 
a typical haying scene in Maine, where timothy and 
clover constitute the principal hay crop. In the West, 
alfalfa is the principal crop grown for hay. In the 
South no one crop stands out as the principal source of 
hay, but co^^^3eas, Johnson grass, bermuda, and in some 
localities alfalfa, are the most important. 

Wheat occupies the third largest acreage. It is grown 
mainly in the North and West. Figure 144 shows a 
fine field of wheat in the state of ]Michigan. About 
two thirds of our wheat crop is fall sown and one third 
spring sown. The line between the fall and spring wheat 



The Farm Business 



273 




Fig. 144. Wheat, the world's greatest bread crop, and the third crop 
in acreage in the United States. 

areas runs northeast and southwest about through 
Sioux City, Iowa. Little spring wheat is sown south 
of this Hne and Httle fall wheat north of it except in the 
far West. On the Pacific coast wheat is sown indiffer- 
ently in fall or spring. Real winter wheat will not head 
out until it has been through a winter. Hence in locali- 
ties where wheat is sowai in either fall or spring the 
varieties grown are mostly spring wheats. When sown 
in the fall, these frequently winter kill badly. 

The fourth crop in point of acreage is oats. They 
are grown mostly in the Northern states. A Pennsyl- 
vania oatfield is shown in Figure 145. Oats are the 
principal grain crop of the South, though the area grown 
there is much less than it is in the North. This crop 
is usually sown in the fall in the South. In middle 
latitudes, — that is to say, in a strip of country extending 
from about Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Missouri, 
— oats are not a satisfactory crop. This is too far north 
for fall sowing, and it is so far south that the spring- 



274 



Farm Science 




sown crop, being late in maturing, often fails because 
of attacks of rust when warm weather comes. The 
region to the north of this may be called the spring oats 
region, while that to the south may be called the winter 
oats region. 

Cotton is the fifth, and the only remaining, crop that 
occupies a large acreage in this country. It is the great 
money crop of the South. It grows about as far north 
as the southern line of Missouri. Figure 146 shows a 
typical cotton-picking scene in South Carolina. If a 
machine could be devised for picking cotton, it would 
work a wonderful revolution in the agriculture of the 
South. At present the amount of cotton a family can 
grow is limited by what they can pick, which is about 
seven bales for the average family. This makes a very 
small income for a farm family. With a mechanical 
picker that w^ould remove this handicap a family could 



The Farm Business 



275 







Fig. 14O. CuUun, LliL- vvuilil's grcaU-sl liber crop; the tilth in acreage 
in this country. 

grow thirty or forty bales easily. This would do away 
with the one-horse farming of the South, and convert 
it into a region of rich and prosperous farmers, whereas 
now most of the people who actually do the work in 
the cotton fields are very poor. 

No other crop occupies sufficient acreage in this 
country to justify particular notice here. 

Conditions under which a farm may properly depend 
on fruits and vegetables for its principal income. In 
the vicinity of every town or village there may be a few 
farms devoted largely to the production of fruits and 
vegetables to supply those living in town. We have 
already seen that a very few such farms will supply a 
town of considerable size. 

Near large cities the number of such farms that may 



276 



Farm Science 




Fig. 147. Loading early potatoes, Chesapeake Bay; grown in the 
famous trucking region on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and 
Virginia. 



do a profitable business is larger, in proportion to the 
size of the city. 

If a locality, even at a distance from any large city, 
has a sandy soil on which vegetables can be matured 
much earlier than on the surrounding heavier soils, 
and if there are not too many such sandy areas within 
market distance of the same market centers, then that 
locality may find it quite profitable to engage largely 
in truck farming (that is, the growing of vegetables 
for shipping to a distant market). Muscatine County, 
Iowa, is a case in point. In the jNIississippi River 
bottom near the town of Muscatine, there is an exten- 
sive area of sandy soil devoted largely to growing vege- 
tables and melons for city markets in the central West. 
There are, however, localities where there is so much 



The Farm Business 



277 



soil of this character that it cannot all be used in this 
manner. The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia 
grows enormous quantities of potatoes and other vege- 
tables for the markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and 
New York. (See Figure 147.) But there are great 
stretches of sandy soil in southern New Jersey lying 
idle today because there are not markets enough to 
consume all the vegetables that could be grown on them, 
and they are not well adapted to corn, hay, wheat, 
and oats. 

Farms situated near the coast of the Gulf of ^Mexico, 
if they are near a good line of railroad, may be devoted 
largely to vegetables. (See Figure 148.) These crops 
may be matured down there before the North begins 
to send her vegetables to market. But many of the 
farmers who have undertaken this kind of business have 
failed because some years so many vegetables are pro- 
duced that the markets are glutted and prices fall below 







lliirlhMtiir.il Investigations, U. S. U. .1. 
Fig. 148. Truck farming in Florida. 



278 Farm Science 

the cost of shipping. Vegetable growers in the South 
who devote most of their land to staple crops like corn, 
hay, cotton, etc., can stand these occasional losses on 
their vegetable crops, and in the long run they make 
money. The chance of success in growing vegetables 
at long distances from market is greatly improved when 
the growers form cooperative associations and market 
their vegetables together. In this way they can obtain 
better shipping facilities, and can maintain agents in 
the great market centers to look after the sale of their 
products. 

Certain locahties are better adapted to the production 
of certain kinds of fruits than are most other localities. 
In some instances enormous businesses have grown up, 
based primarily on fruit production. At Puyallup 
(pronounced Pyu-dl'up), Washington, where the soil 
and climate are especially adapted to all kinds of berries, 
millions of dollars' worth of berries are grown annually. 
These berries are shipped as far east as St. Paul, Minne- 
sota. A strong marketing association has made this 
business possible. Several other localities in western 
Washington and western Oregon are similarly developed 
as centers of berry production. Figure 149 shows a 
field of berries at W^oodburn, Oregon, where one of 
these associations exists. At Wenatche, Washington, 
and in other locations in both Oregon and Washington, 
the production of apples has been similarly developed. 
But a few years ago so many apple trees were planted 
in this country that more apples were produced than 
could be sold, and many growers who had nothing but 
apples for sale lost their farms. This is a danger with 



The Farm Business 



279 



iU .d 






Wry r'fe^';.;7-;M>|:^>-:, •— • . ■"■Fm^ ' ' --^-^ 



mr^k 



■■■<?<..' 






(J.'/;(f 0/ I- arm Managcmcnl (D. .1. Brodie) 
Fig. 149. Field of berries near Woodburn, Oregon. 

which the fruit grower ahvays has to contend. If fruits 
were grown only on farms that are devoted largely to 
other crops, the business would be much safer. 

Choice of staple crops. Crops like corn, wheat, oats, 
hay, and cotton are called staple^ because their products 
may be kept many months without decaying, while 
fruits and vegetables are called perishable crops, be- 
cause their products, generally speaking, cannot well be 
kept in their fresh condition for any considerable length 
of time. 

We have already seen that by far the greater part of 
the farm land in this country is devoted to staple crops, 
and this is necessarily so. The particular staples to be 
grown on any given farm depend mainly on its location. 
Climate is one of the deciding factors in all cases. The 
soil has much to do with the choice of crops in many 
localities. But when both climate and soil are favor- 
able, the most important consideration then becomes the 



28o Farm Science 

possibility of selling the product at a profit. Generally 
speaking, the farmer will choose those crops that bring 
him the largest returns. But there are exceptions to 
this, some of which are dealt with in the following para- 
graphs. 

Needs of the farm for feed. WTiile cotton may bring 
by far the largest income to the farmer, the cotton farm 
must keep work animals, and it should also produce 
the food of those living on the farm. Hence good farmers, 
even where cotton is much more profitable than any 
other crop, devote part of their land to corn, oats, hay, 
etc., for feed, and to fruits and vegetables for food. 
Similarly, in parts of central Illinois where corn is the 
most profitable crop farmers generally grow considerable 
areas of oats to feed their work stock. They put part 
of their land in clover, not only as a feed for stock, but 
as a means of keeping up the fertihty of the soil. They 
also raise fruits and garden vegetables for home use. 

Seasonal distribution of labor. A single crop, no 
matter how profitable, almost never furnishes the 
farmer employment constantly throughout the season. 
If another crop can be found, the labor on which does 
not interfere with that on the more profitable crop, it 
will usually add to the farm profits to grow some of the 
less profitable crop. It may pay to grow at least small 
areas of crops that if grown on larger areas would not pay 
at all. This is one reason why it pays the cotton farmer 
to grow his own hay and grain. He can usually do so 
without decreasing the area of cotton he is able to care for. 

In regions where corn and wheat are the most profit- 
able crops, as is the case over much of Kentucky, Ten- 



The Farm Business 281 

nessee, Missouri, and parts of Illinois and Arkansas, a 
farmer who has no labor except his own can grow just 
about as much corn along with all the wheat he can 
grow as he could if he sowed no wheat. The corn crop 
keeps him busy from early sprmg till harvest time, and 
again in the fall after the wheat is sown. The wheat 
crop gives him something to do the rest of the summer. 
Hence, even if the price of wheat is so low that it would 
not pay by itself, it may still add considerably to the 
income on a farm that grows all the corn the available 
labor can manage. 

Needs of the soil. In regions where some one crop is 
distinctly more profitable than any other, especially if 
that crop is a cultivated one like corn, cotton, tobacco, 
etc., the continued cultivation of the one most profitable 
crop may lead to exhaustion of the soil. This has hap- 
pened in many parts of the South, and in parts of the 
corn belt as well. In such regions crops are often grown 
as green manures. ]\Iethods of dealing with this prob- 
lem have already been discussed in the section on Soils. 

Presence of productive livestock. When animals are 
kept for the purpose of deriving income from their sale, 
or the sale of their products, they are termed productive 
stock, as distinguished from work stock. A farm that 
is well stocked with productive Hvestock will naturally 
choose some of its crops with special reference to their 
value as feed for these animals. (See Frontispiece.) 
The proportion of the farm to be kept in pasture is de- 
termined by the needs of the farm animals. It seldom 
pays to grow only feed for stock , though there are locali- 
ties where this is the best practice. 



282 Farm Science 

SPECIALIZED VERSUS GENERAL FARMING 

Some of the most important decisions the farmer is 
called upon to make are what crops he shall grow, what 
acreage of each, and what livestock he shall keep. His 
success as a farmer depends largely on how he decides 
these questions. Generally speaking, the safest course is 
to follow the example of the most successful farmers in 
the neighborhood. But one should carefully distinguish 
between those successful farmers who are following some 
unusual type of farming, and those who follow the type 
of farming most common in the locality. Oftentimes a 
man's success depends on the fact that few others are 
doing what he does. Thus, a certain farmer in one of 
the Southern states made a very profitable business by 
growing nothing but hay for sale. His success was due 
to the fact that his neighbors did not grow enough hay 
to supply their needs. If all these neighbors had gone 
into the business of growing hay, they would not have 
been able to find a market for it. 

Another Southern farmer found the business of grow- 
ing pigs for sale to his neighbors very profitable. The 
region was one. where it did not pay farmers generally to 
keep hogs except for producing the home supply of 
meat. The amount of this required was so small that 
few farmers kept a brood sow. Instead they depended 
on buying pigs from this neighbor. Again, his success 
was due to the fact that he was the only farmer in the 
neighborhood who followed this business. 

As a rule, when the farmers in a locality depend on 
buying some kind of farm product that could easily be 



The Farm Business 283 

produced locally, it will pay one or more local farmers to 
produce enough of this product to supply the local de- 
mand. 

In a farm-management survey in one of the Central 
states, there were found two very profitable dairy farms. 
They both supplied milk to a near-by town. Two other 
farmers had undertaken the dairy business, but had 
to dispose of their product in a different way, for the 
town was already supplied. These two dairymen were 
doing poorly. 

When the locality is adapted to it, and when the farmer 
himself is of the right type, specializing in farming usually 
pays better than general farming. An instance was 
found in a Western state, where the farmers generally 
grew wheat, corn, a little hay, and frequently an acre or 
two of strawberries. The livestock usually consisted of 
a few cows and a brood sow or two, in addition to the 
work stock. In this locality there was one farmer who 
had his whole farm in berries of different kinds. He 
made the most profit of any farmer in the community. 
But another farmer who had about the same acreage of 
the same kinds of berries lost money. He was not 
adapted to the specialty he had undertaken. Relatively 
few men can make a success of any unusual type of 
farming. It is far safer for the average man to follow 
the t>pe which has given best results on the largest 
number of farms in his locality. 

Class Exercises 

By interviewing the farmers in the neighborhood of the 
school, get as complete a record as possible of the acreage of 



284 Farm Science 

every crop grown on every farm. In the case of vegetables 
grown for home use, it is hardly feasible to get the acreage of 
each kind of vegetable separately; the entire acreage of 
such crops may be reported as " garden." Find what per- 
centage the area of each crop is of the total crop acreage of 
each farm. By adding together the area of each crop on 
the various farms, find the total acreage of each crop on all 
the farms, and then convert these acreages into percentages. 
How does the percentage area of each of the crops compare 
with the percentage acreage of the same crop for the entire 
country? The latter percentages may be obtained by di- 
viding the area of each crop in the table on page 270 by the 
total at the bottom of the table. 

What is the average area of farm garden and of fruit per 
farm in the community? What is the crop area per work 
horse on each of the farms ? On all the farms ? 

What proportion of each of the more important crops is 
sold, fed on the farm, or used for seed on each farm? On all 
the farms taken together? 



CHAPTER NINETEEN 

HOW TO SECURE BEST RESULTS FROM GROWING 
CROPS 

The farmer's problem in crop growing is to secure the 
largest yields he can without too much expense. By- 
using a great deal of labor in preparing the soil for plant- 
ing, by very thorough tillage, and by the use of large quan- 
tities of manure and fertilizers it is usually possible to 
get enormous yields of any crop, provided of course 
that the work is done intelligently. But it does not 
always pay to do this. The use of a few tons of manure 
to the acre may pay a handsome profit, but it does not 
follow that doubling the quantity of manure will double 
the profit. The farmer must therefore use judgment in 
his work. 

There are several ways of increasing the yield of crops, 
some of which cost very little and should therefore be 
used to the limit. Others cost money, and the farmer 
should observe closely the effect they have in order to 
know how far to go with them. 

Conditions required for big yields. The more impor- 
tant conditions that must be met in order to secure large 
yields are as follows : 

The crop planted must be of a kind and variety 
known to do well in the climate of the region, and to be 
adapted to the particular kind of soil in which it is to be 
planted. It is not always easy to find out what varieties 
are best adapted to local conditions, but when this is 
once known it costs very little to get a start of them. 
In order to be profitable the crops to be grown must 
also be adapted to local market conditions. That is, 

28s 



286 Farm Science 

there must be a ready sale for them, unless they are to 
be used on the farm. 

The seed used should be of good vitality and germi- 
nating power, and should not be mixed with weed 
seeds. The right amount of seed per acre must be 
planted, and the spacing of the plants must be such 
as to give the individual plants opportunity to develop 
normally. 

The seed must be planted at the proper depth. This 
varies with the kind of seed and the character of the soil. 
Seeds should be planted deeper in sandy soil than in a 
heavy soil. The general rule is to plant each kind of 
seed just deep enough so that the store of plant food in 
the seed may support the young plant abundantly while 
it is coming up and getting its first leaves and roots. 
If planted too deep this supply of food may all be used up 
in producing a stem long enough to reach the surface 
of the soil. If planted too shallow the soil may dry 
out around the seed before it is well started. Generally 
speaking, the larger the seed the deeper it should be 
planted, since this will give the greater amount of mois- 
ture to the larger kinds of seed. 

The soil should be well supplied with moisture, but not 
so full of it as to exclude air, for germinating seeds use 
a large amount of oxygen from the air. 

The soil should also be warm enough to insure prompt 
germination of the seed. The temperature at which 
different kinds of seed will germinate varies considerably. 
Wheat and oats will germinate when the temperature 
of the soil about them is as low as 40 degrees, while 
corn requires a temperature of about 50 degrees. If 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 287 

planted before the soil is sufficiently warm, the seed will 
rot, for there are bacteria and molds that can grow when 
the temperature is very little above freezing. 

The soil must be abundantly supplied with humus, or 
decaying organic matter. The reasons for this have al- 
ready been given in the discussion of the soil. The 
largest yields of crops cannot be obtained without 
plenty of humus. 

An abundance of all the necessary kinds of plant 
food must be present in the soil. 

The soil must be put in the very best condition of 
tilth before the seed is planted. Some plants are more 
particular about this than others. By good condition 
of tilth is meant that the soil must be well pulverized, 
but not reduced to an actual powder. It must be free 
from large clods. In short, the soil must be in con- 
dition to hold a large amount of moisture and a large 
amount of air at the same time, and it must be fine 
enough to enable the seed to touch a large number of 
soil grains so as to get moisture and plant food from 
them. The soil must also be loose enough some dis- 
tance down to permit plant roots to thread their way 
through it easily, but not loose enough to have large 
open spaces in it. (See Figure 34, page 67.) 

The surface soil should not be allowed to bake, or form 
a crust, for this tends to prevent free circulation of air 
in the soil. It also causes much of the water that falls 
as rain to run off over the surface and thus be lost. 

The soil must be kept free from weeds, for weeds soak 
up enormous quantities of water from the soil and use 
large amounts of available plant food that is needed by 



288 Farm Science 

the growing crop. The roots of some weeds also 
exude juices into the soil that hinder the growth of 
crops. 

Relation of yield per acre to profit. The relation be- 
tween yield of crops per acre and the profit made by the 
farmer (on his entire farm) was determined for a group 
of 378 farms in Pennsylvania. The average yield of 
the crops on a farm was expressed as percentage of the 
average for all the farms. Thus, if the average for a 
given farm is 86 per cent of that for all, then the yield 
on that farm is expressed as 86. The profits made by 
each farmer were expressed in percentage of the average 
profits of all farms of the same size. When expressed 
in this manner the relation between yields and profits 
were as shown in the following table : 

Yields Profits 

84 and less 49 

85 to 99 74 

100 to 114 108 

IIS to 139 153 

140 and over 130 

From this it appears that profits increased as yield 
per acre increased, till yields about 40 per cent above the 
average of the community were reached. Those whose 
yields were greater than this did not make so much 
profit. But the table shows very strikingly that with 
the methods used by these farmers it pays handsomely 
to get yields considerably above the average. Those 
whose yields were more than 40 per cent above the aver- 
age evidently used too much manure or fertilizer, or did 
more work on their crops than was profitable. 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 289 

Relation of prices to the most profitable yields. When 
the price of a crop product is very high, it pays to use 
more manure and fertihzer and to put more work on the 
crop than when prices are low. Suppose, for instance, 
that after the usual amount of fertilizer has been applied 
to an acre of cotton, the addition of another hundred 
pounds, costing $1.50, would increase the yield by 10 
pounds of lint. Now if the lint were worth 18 cents a 
pound, the increase in crop value would be Si. 80, which 
would make the additional hundred pounds of fertilizer 
profitable. But if lint were worth only 10 cents a pound, 
the increase in value would be only $1, which is less than 
the cost of the additional fertilizer. 

Similarly, when the crop product is high priced it 
may pay to grow the crop on land not well suited to it, 
while if the price were low it might not pay. Suppose, 
for instance, that a given field, with ordinary methods, 
will produce 20 bushels of corn per acre, at a total cost 
of $12. With corn at 50 cents a bushel this would be a 
losing proposition, while with corn at 80 cents there 
would be a profit of $4 per acre. In the South, when 
cotton is high priced much land is devoted to this crop 
that is either left idle or devoted to other crops when 
cotton is low priced. High prices thus tend to reduce 
themselves by increasing production, while low prices 
tend to decrease production and thus raise prices. 

For a similar reason it pays to use more fertilizer and 
more labor when these (fertilizer or labor) are cheap 
than when they are high priced. 

When the price of farm products is high the farmer is 
justified in using every means at his command to increase 



290 Farm Science 










sG? 






L'Jici: oj l-'jrm Managcmcnl {A. P. Ycrkcs) 

Fig. 150. Tractors pay on large farms, especially when farm products are 
high priced. Small farms cannot afford such expensive equipment. 

the yield of his crops, even if some of these means are 
expensive (Fig. 150). But when prices are low he should 
confine himself more largely to the less expensive means 
of increasing yields. 

SELECTION AND CARE OF SEED 

One of the ways by which farmers can increase the 
yield of their crops is by the use of the best seed obtain- 
able. Increased yields obtained in this manner usually 
cost less than those obtained by any other means. In 
most cases good seed can be secured by a little extra 
work on the part of the farmer, and if this work can be 
done when other work is not pressing there is really no 
cost to it at all. 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 291 

Seed of the small grains. The main consideration in 
the case of seed wheat, seed oats, and the seed of other 
small grain crops is plumpness and freedom from ad- 
mixture with weed seeds. In some localities wheat is 
more or less mixed with cheat, and sometimes with rye. 
Cheat decreases the yield and lowers the price of the 
grain, and rye also causes the wheat to sell for less than 
clean wheat would bring. Wheat does not turn to cheat, 
as so many people believe. Cheat comes from cheat seed. 
Wheat can be cleaned of cheat by running it through a 
good fanning mill a time or two. If no cheat seed is 
sown, and there is none in the ground, there will be no 
cheat in the crop. Cheat ripens a little earlier than 
wheat, and drops part of its seed before the wheat is 
harvested. The next year the percentage of cheat in 
the wheat grown on this same field is much larger, 
even if no cheat seed is sown. It is this fact that 
has led so many farmers to think that wheat turns 
to cheat. 

About the best way to get rid of rye when it is mixed 
with wheat is to pull the rye out of enough wheat for 
seed sometime before harvest, but after the crop has 
reached its full growth. Rye grows a foot taller than 
wheat, and can thus easily be removed. Before thresh- 
ing this clean wheat it is a good plan to run some straw 
through the threshing machine. This will clean out all 
or nearly all the rye grains in the machine and thus pre- 
vent the clean seed from becoming mixed with rye again. 
When there is only a little rye in a field, it may all be 
removed by hand. If there is rye on neighboring farms, 
some straw should be run through the threshins: machine 



292 Farm Science 

as soon as it starts work on the farm ; or the first few 
sacks of wheat, which will contain all the rye the ma- 
chine brought to the farm with it, may be kept separate 
and not used for seed. 

Since wheat is self-fertilized, one way of getting per- 
fect uniformity in the wheat on a farm is to pick out a 
single very fine plant and save its seed by itself. Plant 
this the next year in a small patch by itself, and thresh 
it out by hand. Repeat this till there is enough to sow 
an acre or more, which may be handled in the usual way, 
but should be carefully guarded against mixture with 
other wheat. The next year a whole field of wheat can 
be sown from this beginning, and the field will be all of a 
perfectly uniform type. Such wheat, if of a really good 
type, can usually be sold for seed at a price that will 
pay for the trouble taken with it. Oats may be handled 
in the same way. 

Saving seed corn. The corn plant is large enough to 
permit work with individual plants, and experience has 
amply demonstrated that it pays to select seed corn in 
the field after the crop is ripe but before it is harvested 
rather than from the crib in the spring just before plant- 
ing time. Seed corn properly selected and cared for 
will give yields 10 to 20 per cent greater than that taken 
from the crib in the usual manner. 

In selecting seed corn, look first at the stalk. This 
should be not too tall, and not slender. Reject a good- 
looking stalk if it has more room than usual, for its 
excellence may be due to lack of competition. If the 
stalk is satisfactory, then look to the ear. This 
should be large and sound, with a good covering of 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 293 



i:i^'' 




J, 




tM 


i^Ag ,«'n? 


)j, 




P*"'- 


i' 






■ 


r -y ■■■-£. 







Fig. 151. Gathering seed corn. 



husk, and should be quite 
dry. If not dry by this 
time, it is a late strain and 
not desirable. The best 
ears usually hang over 
more or less because of 
their weight. There is also 
the advantage in a re- 
curved ear that rain does 
not enter the husk and 
spoil the grain. The ear 
should be attached to the 
stalk by a shank of medium 
thickness and length. 

A sack with one bottom and one top corner tied to 
a cord and slung over the shoulder makes a good recep- 
tacle for the seed corn as it is husked. The sack may 
be emptied on the ground at the end of the row and the 
corn later taken to the place where it is to be stored. 
(See Figure 151.) 

There is considerable advantage, especially where 
corn is to be planted with a planter, in having the rows 
of grain straight on the cob of seed ears, and the grains 
of uniform size, so that they will feed through the 
planter without skips. This gives a better stand of 
corn the next year. 

The seed corn gathered each day should be hung up 
in a dry place the same day, in such manner that no two 
ears touch each other. A very good plan is that shown 
in Figure 152. After the ears are in position, they are 
hung in a dry place where they will not freeze before 



294 



Farm Science 




they are perfectly dry. 
When properly dried they 
may be stored in any 
safe place which is at all 
times dry. 

Testing seed corn. An 
ear of corn may look all 
right, but the grains on 
it may have lost their 
vitality to such an extent 
that they will not grow. 
A few ears of this kind 
in the seed used give a 
poor stand in the field 
the following year and 
greatly reduce the yield. 
To avoid this it pays 
well to test the germination of each ear. This can 
be done in the late winter, and the cost is almost 
nothing, but the result may add many bushels to the 
next corn crop. A very good method is that known as 
the" rag-doll" method. First arrange forty-eight ears 
of seed corn in a row on a platform or the barn-loft floor, 
fixing the end ears in place by driving nails beside them. 
Number the ear at the left end i and that at the right 
end 48, being careful that each ear retains its same 
position till the test is finished. Take a strip of the kind 
of cloth known as " sheeting," 12 inches wide and 4 
feet long, and mark it as in Figure 153. Provide 48 
squares, and number each of them as shown for the first 
few squares in the figure. Next take up ear No. i and 



Corn Inveilii^ati 



Fig. 152. Stringing seed corn prepara- 
tory to hanging it up in a dry place for 
the winter. 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 295 



t 


2V^" 


2V^" 


2/a" 


2/V' 




I 


2 


3 






4 


5 


6 






7 


8 


9 






ro 


II 


12 






13 


14 


15 











remove six grains from 

it, spacing the six grains 

generally over the ear. 

Place these grains on 

square No. i on the cloth. 

Do the same for ear No. 2, 

placing the grains on 

square No. 2, and so on 

till samples have been 

taken from each ear. It 

is well to have the cloth 

slightly damp, so that the 

grains will stick to it. 

Now lay another piece of 

cloth of the same size as 

the first directly over the 

grains, being careful not to 

disturb them. Carefully roll up the double layer from the 

lower end, tie it loosely at each end, and immerse it in 

lukewarm water till thoroughly wet. Then wrap it in 

an old newspaper and put it aside in a moderately warm 

place. Ordinary living-room temperature is about right. 

In six days unroll the bundle, being careful not to let 

any of the grains get off their proper squares. By this 

time every grain that is sound and fit for seed should be 

well sprouted. First go through and note every ear the 

six grains from which have all made good strong sprouts. 

These ears are the kind to plant. If there are only a 

few of them, and if the amount of seed saved was not 

large for the area to be planted, it may be necessary to 

piece out with some of the ears that gave only five good 



Fig. 153. Cloth 1X4 feet, marked into 
squares for use in testing seed corn by 
the "rag-doU"' method. 



296 



Farm Science 



[■■■ "•^";^ii*Vs^!^^3 







Fig. 154. A good hill of potatoes to 
save for seed ; grown on the farm of 
L. D. and Frank Sweet, in Colorado. 



sprouts ; but this ought 
not to be necessary if a 
sufficient quantity of seed 
ears were saved the fall 
previous. It is a good 
plan to pick about forty 
ears of seed for each acre 
to be planted the next 
year. This is three times 
as many as will be needed, 
and it will give a chance 
to reject ears that do not show good germination. 

Several other methods of conducting this test are 
given in various bulletins issued by the state experiment 
stations and the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture. Every farmer who grows a considerable acreage 
of corn should have these bulletins, which may be had 
for the asking. Progressive corn growers quite gen- 
erally test their seed corn nowadays, and they make 
money by so doing. 

Selecting seed potatoes. It should be remembered 
that potatoes (Irish, or white) are propagated from 
tubers, not from seed, so that every potato in a hill has 
exactly the same heredity. A small potato from a good 
hill is better for seed than a good potato from a poor 
hill. Where the farmer grows his own seed potatoes, 
which is usually the case in the North, a good way to 
begin is to dig by hand enough hills to give the neces- 
sary seed for next year's planting, saving for seed only 
those hills that come up to the standard thought to be 
satisfactory under the conditions (Fig. 154). Avoid hills 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 297 

with too many tubers in them, especially if most of 
them are small. Avoid also hills that have large, coarse 
tubers. Save a few of the choicest hills separately, keep- 
ing each hill to itself. Next year plant each of these 
choicest hills in a row to itself and observe closely what 
each does. The best one or two of these rows should be 
saved separately again, though there is no use in keep- 
ing the different hills in the same row separate, as they 
all have just the same heredity. In this way it is pos- 
sible to get a start of good seed. 

Planting potatoes for seed. There is some advantage 
in planting potatoes uncut. But this is very expensive 
unless the potatoes are quite small. After a good strain 
of seed has been obtained by the methods outlined above, 
especially on farms where the potato is an important 



^^s^ 








UorticuUural IiKciCiaalions, U. S. D. .i. 

Fig. 155. A field of potatoes planted thick, for seed, ajid planted very late 
(about July i). When potatoes are planted in this way, a large quantity of 
small ones results. These are planted whole the ne.xX year. 



298 



Farm Science 




crop, it is a good plan to plant a seed patch late (about 
July i), and so thick that all the potatoes in the patch 

will be small enough to justify 
their use as seed without cut- 
ting them. Some of the best 
potato growers in the country 
follow this plan. (See Figure 

I55-) 
Grass and clover seeds. 

Most farmers buy their grass 

and clover seed. The princi- 

Seed Laboratory, U.S.D. A. P^^ thiugS tO gUard agaiust 

Fig. 156. Testing small seeds, in buying is wced sccds and 

such as those of grass and clover, g^^^jg ^f j^^ germinating 

power. Figure 156 shows a very good method of 
testing the germinating power of small seeds of these 
kinds. Count out one hundred seeds, just as you come 
to them ; that is, do not pick out good seed for the test. 
Place them on the lower cloth on the plate, put the other 
cloth over them, seeing that the seeds are well distrib- 
uted over the lower cloth, moisten the cloths well, put 
the other plate on top, and leave in a moderately warm 
place for several days. In four or live days examine the 
test and take out all seeds that are well sprouted. 
Moisten the cloths again and repeat the examination 
every day or two for about ten or twelve days. Then 
count the seeds that have not germinated. If they are 
very numerous, either reject the lot from which they 
were taken or increase the rate of seeding to make up 
for the poor germination. 

In counting out the seeds for this test, look carefully 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 299 




Fig. 157. Good clover seed. A 
single weed seed present. 



Fig. 158. Clover seed mixed with 
much trash and with many shriveled 
seeds. 



for weed seeds amongst them. Send to your state 
experiment station and the United States Department of 
Agriculture for bulletins on seed testing, which give pic- 
tures of the weed seeds commonly found in grass and 
clover seed. If seeds of bad weeds are present, do not 
sow the lot from which the sample was taken. These 
precautions will save a great deal of money and trouble 
on farms that grow much grass or clover. Alfalfa is 
here included with the clovers. 

Figure 157 shows a sample of recleaned clover seed 
that contains very few weed seeds and relatively few 
poor seeds. Figure 158 shows a sample of very inferior 
clover seed, containing much trash and a large proportion 
of shriveled seeds which will not grow. 

Seed production as a business. Because of the time 
and trouble it takes to secure good seed by the methods 
just outlined, many farmers will not undertake it. Yet 
many of those who do not care to go to all this trouble 



300 



Farm Science 




Horticultural Iiivesligations, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. isg. Cold frames, used by vegetable growers in order to get tender plants 
started early. The plants are transplanted to the open when warm weather 
comes. 

will readily buy good seed. For this reason the farmer 
who likes to do work of this kind can usually build up a 
profitable business by producing good seed to sell to his 
neighbors. 

Cold frames and hotbeds. About the only use the 
ordinary farmer has for a hotbed is for sprouting 
sweet potatoes, if he grows them. Such a bed is 
usually made by burying a thick layer of fresh horse 
manure under 6 inches of good, soft earth. The heat 
generated in the fermenting manure warms the soil 
above, and thus induces rapid growth of the potato 
sprouts. 

Cold frames (Fig. 159) differ from hotbeds in that no 
measures are taken to warm them. They are covered, 
usually with sash containing ordinary window glass, to 



Securing Best Results from Growing Crops 301 

prevent cooling off at night. This keeps frost out unless 
the weather is too severe. 

Those who grow vegetables for early spring markets 
make much use of cold frames and hotbeds. This per- 
mits them to get tender vegetables started before it 
would be possible to do so in the open, and thus enables 
the grower to get the benefit of the high prices that pre- 
vail early in the season before the markets are flooded 
with vegetables. When the weather has become mild 
enough, the young vegetables started in the cold frames 
or hotbeds may be transplanted to the open air. 

Class Exercises 

If corn is grown in the vicinity of the school, as soon as 
the corn is ripe enough to save for seed arrange with some 
farmer to let the class select his seed corn for him for the 
next year. If the farmer is one who regularly selects seed 
corn in the field, ask him to show you how he does this work. 
When the ears have been husked, fasten them together with 
binder twine or other strong cord, as shown in Figure 152, 
and hang them up where they will dry properly before cold 
weather. 

Sometime during the winter, make tests for germination 
of seed corn, as shown in Figure 153. If practicable, test 
seed corn for all the neighboring farmers who desire it. In- 
clude in the test some ears that have had no special care, 
and some that have been properly cared for, and see if there 
is any difference in the vitality of the seed on the two types 
of ears. 

Test several kinds of grass seed of the kinds commonly 
sown in the community, as shown in Figure 156. 

Get several of the best local farmers to tell you how to 
prepare land for the leading crop of the locality so as to get 
largest yields, and compare the methods recommended by 



302 Farm Science 

the different farmers. Compare these methods with those 
of farmers who do not get good yields. 

Ascertain the rate of seeding (amount of seed used per 
acre), or the thickness of planting, of all the principal crops 
of the locality on several farms. Do you find much variation 
in this respect? Can you account for this variation? 

Ascertain how many ears of seed corn are required to 
plant an acre. How many acres will a bushel of good seed 
corn plant? 



CHAPTER TWENTY 

LIVESTOCK ENTERPRISES 

A FARM enterprise is any one of the departments of 
the farm business — one of the sources from which in- 
come is derived. Most farms have one or more Hve- 
stock enterprises as well as one or more crop enterprises. 

BEEF CATTLE ENTERPRISES 

There are three branches of the beef cattle business. 
These are the raising of calves for beef purposes, the 
production of " baby beef " (see below), and the fatten- 
ing of steers. None of these enterprises requires much 
labor, for which reason they are found on many farms 
where labor is scarce. 

Raising beef calves. While this is a type of farming 
that requires relatively little capital and labor, it also 
brings in a small income. Except when the calves are 
to be finished as baby beef, it is a business which is and 
should be largely confined to two conditions. In the 
first place it is an excellent business for the range country, 
especially where the grass is good. It is hardly practi- 
cable on a range that will not support one full-grown 
animal on fifty acres during the grazing season, and is 
highly satisfactory on a range where a thousand-pound 
animal can get enough feed on ten acres. The poorer 
ranges are fit only for sheep or goats. 

In recent years dry-land farmers have driven the 
cattle off the best ranges and cut down very greatly the 
number of range steers shipped to the feed lots of the 
corn-belt states. This reduction in the number of 
feeders has caused a marked increase in the price of young 

303 



304 Farm Science 

beef animals, a fact which has made the raising of beef 
calves much more remunerative to farmers. 

In the second place, the keeping of a few cows of the 
beef breeds to graze untillable land and to consume corn- 
stalks, straw, cheap or spoiled hay, etc., enables the or- 
dinary farmer who does not want to engage in other 
forms of stock farming to convert a good deal of waste 
material into a salable product. If every farm that now 
allows things of this kind to go to waste were to keep 
enough cows to consume them, the supply of beef in this 
country would be greatly increased and at the same time 
the farmers would make more money. These same cows 
might easily produce enough dairy products for home 
use and even a small amount to sell. 

Under present conditions it would hardly be profitable 
for the farmer to keep more beef cows to raise calves than 
can find their living largely as scavengers, unless the cows 
are registered stock and produce calves that can be sold 
at good prices as breeders. 

Baby beef production. The term " baby beef produc- 
tion " is applied to the business of feeding calves liberally 
from the first till they are nearly or quite two years old, 
having them in prime condition for slaughter at this age 
(Fig. 1 60). To succeed in this business it is necessary to 
have a good quality of calves, and to get these it is usually 
necessary to raise them. With the proper kind of 
cattle, especially when the cows are fed largely on waste 
materials, a farmer who has plenty of good feed and 
knows how to use it can make money out of baby beef. 

Fattening steers. When young cattle raised on the 
range were available to corn-belt feeders at low prices, 



Livestock Enterprises 



305 




Ujiice of harm Managemcnl [J. S. Cotton) 
Fig. 160. Iowa baby beeves. 

as was the case a few years ago, the feeding of steers on 
corn-belt farms was a very good business. Now that the 
price of feeder stock has become very high, the steer-feed- 
ing business has become uncertain. The margin of 
profit in it is small at best, and the price of fat cattle 
varies greatly from month to month. When the farmer 
goes to the big market centers to buy feeders he may 
have to pay a high price, and when he goes to sell prices 
may have dropped, and then he loses money. By far 
the most important factor in successful steer feeding is 
to buy wisely. This means either that the cattle bought 
for feeding must be exceptionally good or the price must 
be low. The greatest difficulty with this business is the 
fact that when the farmer buys his steers he has no means 
of knowing what the price of fat cattle may be several 
months later when he is ready to sell. 



3o6 Farm Science 

Some farmers buy their steers in the fall and fatten 
them during the winter. Others carry them through 
the winter on cheap rough feeds and then fatten them on 
grass the next summer, either feeding grain on grass or 
depending entirely on pasture. Still others buy in the 
spring and fatten on pasture, usually without grain. 
Some farms devoted to this last t>'pe of steer fattening 
have all the land in grass. It takes very little labor to 
run a big farm in this way. Although the profits are 
small, expenses also are small, and the profits are fairly 
certain. 

Most farmers who make a business of steer feeding do 
so either as a means of keeping up the fertility of their 
land or because they are short of labor. What is said 
here about steer feeding applies mainly to corn-belt con- 
ditions. There are localities here and there in the West 
and South where, because of abundance of pasture or of 
cheap hay of good quality, the fattening of steers may be 
quite profitable, especially when the value of the result- 
ing manure is taken into consideration. 

DAIRYING 

Importance and distribution. Dairying is by far the 
most important livestock enterprise in this country. 
At the last census there were twenty million dairy cows 
as against thirteen million steers and bulls. The mag- 
nitude of dairying as a farm enterprise increases markedly 
as we go north and decreases southward. The principal 
reason for this, as previously stated, is the increasing im- 
portance of the dairy cow as a means of furnishing winter 
employment to the farmer. Another reason why dairy- 



Livestock Enterprises 307 

ing is not more prominent in the South is the difficulty 
of handUng milk and cream in the hot summers of that 
section. 

Phases of dairy farming. There are three more or less 
distinct phases of dairy farming in this country ; namely, 
the production of butter, the production of milk or 
cream for creameries, cheese factories, or condensaries, 
and the production of market milk — that is, of milk 
for consumption as milk in the cities. 

Butter production on the farm. While dairy farmers 
formerly produced great quantities of butter, it is rare 
now to find a farm engaged in this business. Creamery 
butter sells at so much better prices than the ordinary 
run of farm-made butter that It is usually more profitable 
to sell cream to creameries than to make butter on the 
farm. Here and there a farmer who can make a very 
high grade of butter, and who is in position to sell his 
butter to special customers at good prices, still con- 
tinues in the business. Generally speaking, butter 
making on the farm is confined to home needs or to 
localities where the cost of delivering milk to a factory 
or shipping station would be prohibitive. 

Production of milk or cream for factories. City milk 
dealers usually pay more for milk or cream than fac- 
tories can afford to pay. For this reason the factories, 
especially creameries and cheese factories (Fig. 161), 
have to a great extent been driven out of the regions 
near the large cities. Condensaries can pay more than 
creameries and cheese factories, hence a good many con- 
densaries are still found in regions that could ship milk 
to the cities. 



3o8 



Farm Science 




Dairy Division, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. i6i. A combined creamery and cheese factory in Wisconsin. 



Cheese production in this country has become largely 
centered in Wisconsin and in those parts of New York 
not well situated for shipping milk. Cheese production 
is decreasing in New York as the demand for market 
milk increases. 

Creamery butter production has for many years been 
gradually disappearing in the Eastern dairy sections, being 
driven out by the market milk business, but has increased 
enormously in the Middle Western and Far Western 
states. It is the leading phase of dairy farming in the 
last-named sections. The cheapness of feeding stuffs 
in the West makes creamery milk production a fairly 
profitable business if good cows are kept, especially when 
the value of manure is taken into consideration. 

Market milk production. The enormous growth of 
cities in recent years has created an ever increasing de- 
mand for market milk, and the production of this com- 
modity has become the leading feature of farming in the 



Livestock Enterprises 



309 



vicinity of many cities. Figure 162 shows a familiar 
sight in a New England village just before the milk 
train arrives. Because of the great number of large 
cities along the Atlantic seaboard, and the fact that 
there is no land on one side of these cities, as well as the 
fact that much of the land on the other side is too rough 
for ordinary farming, there is now little room in the 
East for any other type of dairying. Some of these 
cities are now shipping milk more than 300 miles, and 
sometimes even 500 miles. The great abundance of 
good farming land near the great cities of the ]\Iiddle 
West makes the situation there quite different. 

There is room for one or more good market milk farms 
in the vicinity of every town or village. Few families 
in towns and villages use less than a quart of milk a day. 
A good dairy cow should give at least 2300 quarts a 




Fig. i.U2. Farmers delivering milk ui a railruud niaiiuii in New Ilanipsliire, for 
shipment to Boston. 



3IO 



Farm Science 




Fig. i()3. This New Jersey Guernsey 
gave over 600 pounds of butter in a 
year. Such cows are profitable. 



year, — enough to supply 
about 6-j families i quart 
a day each. This is at 
the rate of i cow to each 
32 inhabitants, counting 
5 persons to the family. 
It would thus take about 
156 cows to supply a town 
of 5000 people, or, say, a 
herd of 15 cows for each 
500 people. This takes 
no account of cows kept 
in town. With good cows, and a system of selling that 
does not result in a lot of losses from unpaid bills, the 
market milk business may be made profitable. One 
good way of preventing losses from unpaid bills is to sell 
in advance to each customer milk tickets, each of which 
is good for a quart of milk. 

Importance of good cows. It is estimated that the 
average cow kept for milk on American farms produces 
about 3500 pounds, or 407 gallons, of milk a year. This 
is slightly more than a gallon a day for the year. Such 
cows are not profitable. The effect that quality of cows 
has on farm profits is well shown in the accompanying 
table, in the case of 2 89 dairy farms in Pennsylvania. 
These farms are situated near a great city and sell their 
milk to city dealers at good prices ; hence the business is 
somewhat more profitable than the average. By labor 
income is meant the amount that is left of the net farm 
income after deducting interest on the farmer's invest- 
ment. It is what he gets for his labor and managerial 



Livestock Enterprises 



311 



ability. These farmers all got about the same price 
for their milk, so that the difference in receipts per cow 



Income per Cow 


Labor Income 


Limits 


Average 


Average 


§50 or less 


$42 


$418 


51 to 60 


57 


592 


61 to 70 


68 


783 


71 to 80 


75 


782 


8r to 90 


86 


831 


91 to 100 


96 


1185 


loi to 120 


no 


1422 


121 and over 


138 


1602 



on the different farms is in the main due to difference in 
the amount of milk the cows gave. It is seen that those 
that had the best cows got about four times as much for 
their labor as did those whose cows were the poorest. 
Figure 163 shows a cow with good dairy form. Such 



, "''\7^S 




Fig. 164'. This cow gave only about 200 pounds of butter in a year. Note the 
difference in form of body between this cow and the one shown in Figure 163. 



312 Farm Science 

cows are profitable, while those like the one in Figure 
164 hardly pay for their keep. 

Unless it is possible to buy good cows at reasonable 
prices, w^hich is not often the case, it is absolutely es- 
sential that the dairy farmer use good bulls as a means 
of building up his herd. These bulls should not only 
be of a dairy breed, but they should be from stock known 
to be good producers. The best way for the small farmer 
to accomphsh this is to join an association whose object 
is to keep good bulls for its members. When a bull has 
been on one farm a few years he can then be moved to 
another, if he has proved to be satisfactory, instead 
of being sent to the slaughterhouse. In this way a 
few good bulls will suffice for quite a number of 
farms. 

Price of butter fat as compared with that of butter. 
When milk is examined under the microscope, it is seen 
to contain many small drops of oil. This oil is called 
butter fat, for it is the principal constituent of butter. 
But butter also contains about 16 per cent of other 
things, such as water, curd, milk sugar, salt, etc. Hence 
a pound of butter fat will make more than a pound of 
butter; 100 pounds of butter fat in milk will make from 
108 to 116 pounds of butter, according to the skill of the 
butter maker; 100 pounds of butter fat in good rich 
cream will make from 115 to 125 pounds of butter. 
This additional amount of butter made from a given 
amount of butter fat is called the " over-run." With 
good management the value of the over-run will more 
than pay the expense of operating a creamery. Hence, 
when butter is selling at 25 cents a pound, the creamery 



Livestock Enterprises 313 

can afford to pay a little more than 25 cents a pound 
for butter fat. Where it pays less, there is either in- 
competence in the management or the farmer is not 
getting his share of the proceeds. A creamery doing a 
large business can afford to pay 2 or 3 cents more per 
pound for butter fat in cream, and from half a cent to a 
cent more for butter fat in milk, than it gets for butter. 

Relation of dairying to labor. Dairy farming requires 
more labor than any other kind of stock farming, un- 
less it is poultry raising. For this reason we say it is 
an intensive type of stock farming. Beef-cattle farm- 
ing, requiring little labor, is said to be extensive. Be- 
cause of the amount of labor on dairy farms it is a business 
especially adapted to farms having an abundance of 
labor, especially where the laborers are members of the 
family. Hired labor is frequently hard to get on dairy 
farms, for many men do not like the work. 

It takes about 1 50 hours of work per year to care for a 
dairy cow and her milk. Twenty cows would require 
3000 hours, or 300 ten-hour days, which is pretty full work 
for an ordinary man. The unfortunate part of it is 
that some kinds of this labor must be done on Sundays 
the same as on other days. Taking the year through, 
20 cows would require 4 hours' work each Sunday and 
a little less than 9 hours a day on week days. 

On farms devoted chiefly to dairy cows and the raising 
of feed for them, it is estimated that to care for the cows 
and do the necessary field work requires about one man 
to each 12 or 15 cows. On one very large dairy farm in 
New Jersey the men who milk the cows do no other 
work, not even feeding. These men milk from 30 to 35 



314 Farm Science 




'•■ff™M'P 




Fig. 165. These croquet phijers milk 30 to 35 cows each, twice daily, anci like 
their work. They are employed on a large dairy farm in New Jersey. 

COWS each twice a day, putting in about 5 hours twice 
daily at the task. To milk 35 cows in 5 hours takes 8.57 
minutes per cow, which is not rapid work. A speedy 
milker can easily average a cow to 7 or 8 minutes. The 
milking on this farm is done from 2 to 7 a.m. and 2 to 
7 P.M. The men sleep from about 7.30 p.m. to nearly 
2 a.m., and rest, read, sleep, or play games from break- 
fast time till milking time in the afternoon. Figure 165 
shows these men playing croquet. They get good wages 
and like the work. Such a system is suited to any 
farm that has enough cows to keep the milkers busy for 
9 or 10 hours a day. 

The very fact that dairying furnishes so much labor 
makes it a desirable enterprise for farms that are too 
small to give the farm labor full employment in the 
fields. It gives the small farmer a chance to earn more 
wages. 

The dairy herd as a market for crops. In many 
localities the farmer can get more for his crops by feed- 
ing them to a good quality of dairy cows than by selling. 



Livestock Enterprises 315 

Even when the cows do not return the full market price 
for the crops, it may still be more profitable to feed them 
to dairy cows. Thus, in a survey in Chester County, 
Pennsylvania, in 191 2, it was found that on the average 
the income per cow from the sale of milk was $80 a year. 
The total cost of keeping each cow per year was about 
$95. Yet, even under these conditions, those farmers 
who fed their hay and corn made more profit than 
those who sold them. In the first place, the cows re- 
turned nearly as much for the crops as could have been 
obtained on the market. In the second place, the 
manure of each cow was worth $15. Finally, the cows 
not only gave fairly remunerative employment all winter 
long, but converted waste land pasture, cornstalks, 
straw, and damaged hay into a salable product. 

HOG RAISING 

Hogs make more growth on a given amount of feed 
than any of the larger farm animals. At least half of their 
feed, when hogs are kept in small numbers, may consist of 
pasture, skim milk, refuse apples, unmarketable pota- 
toes, undigested grain in cattle manure, and other waste 
materials about the farm, including refuse from the 
kitchen and garden. With good management hogs may 
be used to harvest a part of the corn crop, and even the 
small grains, such as wheat and rye. This process, 
known as " hogging down " crops, saves labor, and at 
the same time leaves valuable humus-making material to 
turn under. (See Figure 166.) 

A bushel of corn, if properly fed, will make 10 pounds 
of increase in live weight in hogs. Hence, when the 



3i6 



Farm Science 




office of Farm Management (J. A. Drake) 
Fig. i66. Hogging down rye on a successful Ohio farm. 

price of a bushel of corn is less than that of lo pounds 
of live hog, a better price can be obtained for the corn 
by feeding it to hogs than by selling it. Every farmer 
should keep at least as many hogs as can be fed largely 
on waste materials, supplemented by enough grain to 
put the hogs in marketable condition. 

Hogs are subject to one very fatal malady — cholera. 
This disease causes farmers every year the loss of sev- 
eral million dollars. Because of this danger it is seldom 
wise for the farmer to depend too largely on hogs as a 
source of income. There is now a means of inoculating 
hogs to prevent the disease, but it is not always easy 
to apply this preventive. 



SHEEP ON THE FARM 

When farmers' wives wove the cloth from which the 
clothing of the farm family was made, which they did 



Livestock Enterprises 



317 




Office oj Farm Management (S. M. Thomson) 
Fig. 167. A farm flock of sheep. They make good lawn mowers. 

fifty or more years ago, sheep were found on nearly 
every farm. But with the development of woolen 
mills, and especially with the development of the range 
business in the West, sheep largely disappeared from 
farms but became numerous on Western ranges. Now 
that the ranges can no longer furnish the wool and mut- 
ton required in this country, the price of sheep has risen 
until it is beginning to be profitable to keep them on 
farms again. A small flock of sheep can live almost 
entirely as scavengers on an ordinary farm, unless there 
is a great deal of other livestock to consume waste ma- 
terials. The income from such a flock is nearly all profit. 
Figure 167 shows a flock of this kind, eating grass in a 
dooryard. 

When sheep are kept in considerable numbers on the 
farm, trouble arises from the fact that these animals 



3i8 Farm Science 

are subject to certain internal parasites (stomach worms, 
liver fluke, etc.) that become very bad when the sheep 
run over the same land many times during the season. 
The sheep scatter the eggs of these parasites in their 
manure. When the eggs hatch, the young worms crawl 
out on the grass, where the sheep eat them again. The 
difficulty is not so bad if the sheep can be frequently 
moved about from field to field or from one pasture to 
another. 

Dogs also are a serious drawback to the sheepman. 
Many farmers who now keep no sheep would do so if 
it were not for sheep-kilhng dogs. Good dog laws, 
strictly enforced, would do much to put sheep farming 
on its feet again. 

Many farmers in the Middle West buy Western range 
lambs to fatten during the winter. This is a very dif- 
ferent business from the keeping of a flock of breeding 
ewes. Where hay and corn are plentiful and cheap, it 
is a good business. 

PLACE OF GOATS IN AMERICAN FARMING 

In parts of the South a few ordinary goats are kept as 
pets or as scavengers on the farm. They are quite pro- 
lific, and if only such numbers are kept as can be fed 
largely on waste materials they may add a good many 
dollars to the farm income. Large herds of Angora 
goats are found on certain of the ranges of the Southwest, 
especially where most of the feed is too coarse for sheep 
(Fig. 1 68). Aside from this, about the only place for 
goats on American farms is to help in clearing land. 
They are very fond of the young sprouts that come up 



Livestock Enterprises 



319 



^*t' 





st-^- ^'< 



OMicc of Farm Mmuiiicmc)!! [David Crijjjihs) 
Fig. 16S. Angora goats on a New Mexico range. 



from stumps, and will keep the sprouts eaten down in 
a clearing if enough goats are used. This causes the 
stumps to decay more promptly. 

THE POULTRY BUSINESS 

There is room for a flock of poultry on every farm, 
the number depending partly on the size of the farm, 
but more on the crops grown and the other livestock 
kept. Within certain limits a flock like that shown in 
Figure 169, or even a larger flock, can find most of its 
feed in waste grain, weed seeds, insects, etc. ; their 
shelter may be constructed mainly from waste lumber ; 
and the women and children may do most of the work 
connected with their management. Under such condi- 
tions the actual cost of a flock of hens is almost nothing. 



320 



Farm Science 




Fig. 169. Flock of farm poultry in the Pugcl Sound region. 

and the income from them is nearly all profit, to say 
nothing of the meat and eggs they furnish toward the 
family living. If the hens are of a good strain of a gen- 
eral-purpose breed they should, with ordinar}' farm care, 
lay at least five dozen eggs per head per year. With 
a little more attention to their feeding and care this 
can easily be increased to six or seven dozen. 

The problem is quite a different one when the number 
of hens becomes so large that they must receive special 
attention, for then they must be fed valuable crop 
products, materials must be bought for constructing 
shelters, and some time must be given them from other 
farm work. Until recently the amount of poultry 
products obtained from ordinary farm flocks was suffi- 
cient to supply the demand for products of this kind. 
Because of the small cost of such flocks the poultryman 
found it difficult to compete with the general farmer. 



Livestock Enterprises 321 

To do so it was necessary for him to use some skill in 
breeding good egg-laying strains of birds. It is fairly 
easy with a little intelligent study to get an average of 
ten dozen eggs per hen, and some poultrymen get as 
high as twelve dozen or more. With such yields the 
poultryman could compete with the farmer. But in 
recent years the farm supply of eggs and poultry no 
longer meets the demand, and prices have risen till 
poultry raising has become a very good business, espe- 
cially in the^hands of a good manager who is a real stu- 
dent of the subject. However, the sudden marked in- 
crease in the price of feed when the great European 
war began to affect this country was very disastrous to 
poultrymen, and many of them went out of business. 

Usually the farmer who keeps more hens than can 
live largely on waste materials loses money on them 
unless he gives some attention to increasing egg produc- 
tion by breeding up his flock. But if he gives the matter 
sufficient study, the poultry business may well be made 
one of the principal enterprises of the farm. Especially 
in regions near the great cities, and more especially 
where the farms are too small to give full employment 
on crops, the poultry business has grown to considerable 
proportions in recent years, and bids fair to increase 
in magnitude. 

Class Exercises 

List the sources of income and the amount of income from 
each source on a considerable number of near-by farms. 
Find the percentage of income from each source on each 
farm. What is the total percentage of income from crops? 
from livestock? 



322 Farm Science 

Find the corresponding percentages for all the farms 
taken together as one farm. 

The " type " of a farm is determined by its principal 
source or sources of income. If an enterprise furnishes half 
or more of the income, that enterprise is usually given as 
the type. In some cases several enterprises must be in- 
cluded in the type name, because no one enterprise pre- 
dominates. Determine the type of each farm studied. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 

THE FARM INVESTMENT AND INCOME 

Farm property. For purposes of taxation, and other 
legal purposes, farm property is divided into real estate 
and personal property. 

Real estate consists of land and its permanent improve- 
ments, such as buildings, fences, drainage system, and 
water supply. All other property belonging to the 
farmer is considered personal property. 

In studying the business of farming we may divide 
the property of the farmer into three classes ; namely, 
real estate, working capital, and personal capital. In 
this classification, the term " real estate " is used in 
its ordinary legal sense as given above. 

Working capital, in farming, consists of work animals, 
productive livestock, implements and machinery, feed and 
supplies, and cash for current expenses. When a farmer 
uses credit instead of cash for current expenses, the amount 
of credit thus used should be considered a part of his 
.working capital, for the business must earn interest on it. 

Personal capital consists of things kept on the farm 
but not used in the farm business. The farm business 
is not expected to earn interest on them. The most 
common forms of personal capital are household effects, 
farm products held for sale, pleasure vehicles, driving 
horses, and pet stock. The farmer keeps these things 
either as a speculation, or for the pleasure or convenience 
of himself and family. He must pay taxes on them, but 
he is supposed to support them out of his profits, and 
should not make them a charge against the farm busi- 
ness in calculating the net farm income. 

323> 



324 Farm Science 

THE FARM INCOME 

The farm income for the year is the difference between 
the receipts and the expenses. 
Receipts consist of 

1. Sales of farm products produced during the year. 

2. Farm products of this year's production held 

for sale. 

3. Increases (if any) in the value of 

a. Permanent improvements. 

b. Livestock. 

c. Implements and machinery. 

d. Feed and supplies. 

4. Miscellaneous receipts, such as rent of farm 

buildings, pay received for work outside the 
farm, etc. 
The total receipts of the farm may be arrived at 
by taking an inventory at the beginning and at the end 
of the year, and by keeping a record of the sales of farm 
products, and of receipts from miscellaneous sources. 
Expenses consist of 

1. Expenditures for 

a. Labor. 

b. Feed. 

c. Miscellaneous purposes. 

2. Purchases of livestock. 

3. Decreases (if any) in the value of 

a. Permanent improvements. 

b. Livestock. 

c. Implements and machinery. 

d. Feed and supplies. 



The Farm Investment and Income 325 

Distribution of farm income between labor and capital. 

The farm income represents interest on the capital in- 
vested and wages for the farmer's labor and managerial 
ability. We may assume that the farmer's work and 
managerial ability are worth a given sum, deduct this 
sum from the farm income, and thus fmd the income 
on the investment. By dividing this income on invest- 
ment by the amount invested, we find the per cent in- 
come on the investment. Thus, if the net farm income 
in a given case is $1000, the total investment $10,000, 
and the value of the farmer's work and managerial 
ability $400, then the income on investment is $600, 
which is 6 per cent on the investment. 

On the other hand, we may assume that capital in- 
vested in farming is entitled to, say, 5 per cent interest, 
and then calculate the farmer's labor income on this 
basis. In this case the interest on the investment of 
$10,000 is $500. Subtracting this from the farm in- 
come of $1000, we have $500 as the labor income of 
the farmer. This represents what the farmer gets for 
his labor and managerial ability on the assumption that 
the capital is entitled to 5 per cent income. 

What the farm furnishes toward the family living. 
In the above calculations, no account was taken of what 
the farm furnishes directly toward the family living. 
An investigation of 950 farms in 14 states showed that 
on the average for all these fanns the value of food 
furnished to the farm family directly from the farm was 
$260. The farm also furnished %7^7, worth of fuel ; 
and the rental value of the farm dwelling, which is consid- 
ered a part of the farm property, amounted to $132 



326 



Farm Science 




Fig. 170. Thismancreateslittlewealthby a day's work, and his income is small. 

a year. These three items total $425. This of itself 
is a considerable income, and should be taken into ac- 
count in comparing the farmer's income with that of the 
city man whose home is not connected with his business. 

INCOME PER IVIAN VERSUS INCOME PER ACRE 

One man, with nothing else to do, can take care of 
about 5 acres of strawberries, except at picking time. 
With a fair yield and fair prices, he should net something 
like $100 per acre, or $500 for his season's work. This 
same man, with a good two-horse team, could grow 
40 acres of corn and 60 acres of wheat, with no help 
except at harvest and corn-husking time. With corn 
yielding 40 bushels per acre and selling at 60 cents per 
bushel, and with wheat yielding 16 bushels per acre and 
selling at $1 per bushel, his gross income would be $1920 
a year. Out of this he would have to feed his team, 



The Farm Investment and Income 



327 



pay for harvest labor, and allow a fair rent for the larger 
area of land. But with all these expenses taken out he 
would still have a much larger income than the man grow- 
ing the strawberries. 

Cotton ordinarily brings in much more per acre than 
corn or wheat, but the necessity of picking cotton by 
hand lunits the amount the average family can manage 
to about 7 bales. This may easily be grown on 12 or 
15 acres, or even less. One horse can easily do the horse 
work required on such an area and cultivate enough 
more land to produce his own feed. Hence one-horse 
farming prevails very generally in the cotton-growing 
country. Figure 170 shows a typical scene on a one- 
horse cotton farm. When a man is following one small 
mule hitched to a plow or cultivator, he is not creating 
a great deal of wealth in a day, and his pay is accordingly 
small. How much greater the wealth created per day 











L. A. M oorhotise 
Fig. 171. This man creates much wealth in a day, and his income is high. 



328 



Farm Science 




office of Farm Management (M . A. Crosby) 
Fig. 172. This farmer gets an income of over 
$200 an acre from his land, but he farms only 
two acres. 



of labor by the farmer who utihzes the power of a team 
like that shown in Figure 171. 

The farmer who devotes his time to a very few acres, 
as is usually necessary if he grows only crops that make 
a large return per acre, not infrequently has a very small 
net income, while the farmer who follows a type of farm- 
ing that enables him to till a large acreage, even if the 
income per acre is smaller, may have a much better 
income. Figure 172 shows the home of a cotton farmer 
who probably gets the largest income per acre of any 
cotton farmer in America, but he tills only 2 acres. 
Figure 173 shows the home of another Southern farmer 
who gets much less per acre, but who farms a much 
larger acreage. He is much more prosperous than 
the 2-acre farmer. In this, as in many other matters, 
the golden mean is often the best for the individual 
farmer. It is desirable that every acre be made to pro- 
duce as much as possible, provided enough such acres can 
be tilled by one man to make him a satisfactory income. 



The Farm Investment and Income 



329 




Uj'l-c :•/ Farm Management (D. A. Brodie) 

Fig. 173. The owner of this farm home gets only about $20 an 
acre from his land, but he farms one hundred acres. 



FACTORS AFFECTING THE FARM INCOME 

Fluctuation in prices. Prices of farm products fluctu- 
ate widely from year to year. This, of course, has an 
effect on the farm income. But as this is a factor over 
which the farmer has Httle control, we need not consider 
it further than to say that by putting on the market 
superior products he can get a higher price for them. 

Method of marketing. In many cases the method of 
marketing has much to do with the price the farmer 
receives for his product. Frequently by joining a co- 
operative association it is possible to get higher prices 
by eliminating unnecessary middlemen's profits. This 
is particularly true when the farm is devoted to the pro- 
duction of perishable commodities like fruit or vegetables 
for shipment to a distant market. The farmers shown 
in Figure 174 are members of such an association. These 
farmers received an average of 15 cents a bushel more for 
their potatoes than those of other near-by localities 



330 



Farm Science 




Fiu. 174. 
potatoes 
formerly 



Ml' ml 



on cars. 
received 



L-rs (it a Ti'.xus farmers' i.'urj|)LTati\'c asMn iatiuu u\ 

The association gets better prices for its members than they 
when selling as individuals. 



where there was no cooperative marketing. Sometimes 
local warehouse men and millers pay much less for the 
farmer's grain than could be obtained through a farmers' 
cooperative warehouse association. 

Choice of enterprises. In newly settled regions it 
frequently happens that farmers make serious mistakes 
in deciding what crops to grow and what livestock to 
keep. The results of such mistakes are often serious. 
But in older-settled communities the farmers have usu- 
ally had time to try out nearly every kind of farming 
possible in the region, and such mistakes are not so fre- 
quently made. The types of farming that do prevail 
in any well-estabhshed agricultural region generally 
represent the result of much experimenting on the part 
of the farmer. Those types not adapted to the local 



The Farm Investment and Income 331 

conditions naturally disappear, because those who follow 
them fail. This leaves those types that are suited to 
local conditions. But when local conditions change, 
corresponding changes must be made in types of farm- 
ing. 

Relative magnitude of enterprises. In a study of 
a large number of farms in Pennsylvania, the percent- 
age of the farm acreage devoted to hay varied widely. 
Some men had less than 20 per cent of their land in hay, 
while others had over 60 per cent. It was found that 
on the average those who had about 45 per cent of their 
land in this crop made more money than those having 
more or less. This shows that the farmer must use judg- 
ment in deciding what acreage each crop he grows should 
occupy. 

In a similar study in South Carolina it was found 
that those farmers made most money who had about 
60 per cent of their land in cotton and the remaining 
40 per cent in feed and food crops. In the " Black- 
waxy " region of Texas the corresponding percentages 
were 85 and 15. The South Carolina farmers used 
one-horse implements, and hence had to use more labor- 
ers. These required more bread, meat, etc. The Texas 
farmers used two- and four-horse implements. This 
required fewer laborers, so that more of the land could 
be devoted to cotton. In both these cases it was found 
that the prevailing system of farming is gradually wear- 
ing out the land, and hence will have to be changed in 
the not distant future unless some means can be found 
for building up the land. 

Unless some one crop or kind of livestock is very 



332 Farm Science 

much more profitable than anything else, it usually 
pays to choose the farm enterprises so that the labor 
available on the farm will be kept comfortably busy 
the greater part of the year. To do this adds greatly 
to the farm income. 

Size of farm. Many farmers make the mistake of 
working a farm that is too small to give them full em- 
ployment. Other things being equal, the farm income 
is usually very nearly proportional to the size of the 
farm. Something depends, of course, on the type of 
farming. If the best type of farming is dairying, for 
instance, a smaller farm will suffice to make a good 
income than if the best t^-pe is growing corn and wheat 
for sale. 

The ideal size of farm is one that gives full employ- 
ment to two men throughout the year. One reason for 
this is that many tasks on the farm require two men. 
Haying and stacking wheat are examples. Such a 
farm gives satisfactory employment for the working 
members of the average farm famil}-, which usually 
consists of the farmer and' one or two growing boys. It 
is all the better if the boys can attend school during the 
winter. 

A farm of this size ought to produce enough income to 
permit at least one of its young people to extend his or 
her studies beyond the common schools. 

If the farms of a region are generally much larger than 
this, the farm population is so scattered that it is diffi- 
cult to maintain good schools, churches, and roads. 
In addition to this, a large part of the population must 
be made up of people who own no land, and who are 



The Farm Investment and Income 333 

therefore not permanent citizens, deeply interested in 
such institutions as schools, churches, and roads. 

Quality of the farm business. The quality of the farm 
business is measured by such things as yield per acre and 
product per animal. The importance of these as a means 
of increasing farm income has already been discussed. 
In regions where the farm income is largely from crop 
products, yield per acre becomes perhaps the most im- 
portant single factor in determining the farm income. 
In regions where the income is mainly from anunal 
products, the amount of product per animal becomes 
important. 

Character of equipment. A farmer who has too httle 
equipment in the way of implements and machinery 
loses much time in doing his work. It is an excellent 
plan to hire the larger and more expensive machinery 
needed on the farm when this can be done with certainty, 
but it may be more profitable to own some rather ex- 
pensive machines than to depend on hirmg. On the 
other hand, many farmers waste money by buying 
machinery which they do not need or could easily Mre. 
The larger the farm, the more complete equipment it 
can afYord. 

Tenure. It is a serious mistake for a man with very 
little capital to invest that capital in a small patch of 
land and try to live by farming it. Farm-management 
studies have shown conclusively that when a man has 
only capital enough to work a large rented farm he 
makes on the average about three times as much as he 
would make with the same t\npe of farming on a farm 
small enough for him to buy with this same capital. 



334 Farm Science 

It is only when the farmer has accumulated enough 
capital to be able to make a liberal (one-half or two- 
thirds) payment on a good-sized farm, and still have 
enough left to furnish the necessary working capital, 
that he is justified in stepping out of the tenant class. 
Before that he can make more as a tenant than he can as 
an owner. 

But the advantages of being a land owner rather than 
a tenant farmer are so great that few men remain ten- 
ants after they are able to become owners of farms large 
enough to make them a good living. 

HOW TO ACQUIRE A FARM 

When capital is available. The man who has money 
enough to pay for a good farm, or even enough to pay 
half of its value down, provided he has enough left for 
working capital, may buy when he pleases. He should 
not buy in any region new to him until he has had a 
chance to study local land values and is thus able to 
judge of values for himself. If such a man is not an 
experienced farmer, it would pay him to get some experi- 
ence before attempting to farm for himself. 

When capital is limited. When the amount of capital 
available is less than that mentioned above, assuming 
that the man has had ample farm experience, the best 
plan to pursue is to become a tenant farmer. By care- 
ful saving, a few years should suffice for the accumulation 
of sufficient capital to justify the purchase of a good 
farm. 

The man with no capital. A study was made of a 
large number of men who now own good farms in the 



The Farm Investment and Income 335 

Middle West, but who started out with no capital. 
They began as hired men on the farm. After four or 
five years, during which time they saved their wages 
and established reputations for integrity and industry, 
they invested their savings and what money they could 
borrow in working capital and became tenant farmers. 
Most of them married about this time. After remain- 
ing tenants for various periods, as a rule from four to 
ten years, they made a first pa>Tnent on a good farm and 
thus became independent proprietors. Most of these 
men started out as hired men at about eighteen years 
of age. At thirty or thirty-five they had acquired 
ownership — with a mortgage, of course. At forty or 
fifty they were out of debt. A man of exceptional ability 
can do better than this. Some of these men owned 
their homes free of debt by the time they were thirty- 
five. 

Class Exercise 

List the property of several local farms as in the example 
below, calculating the percentage investment in each kind 
of property : 

% 

Real estate $10,000 81.10 

Livestock 1500 12.20 

Implements and machinery .... 450 3.60 

Feed and supplies . ' 235 1.90 

Cash (or credit) for current expenses . 150 1.20 

$12,335 loo-oo 



INDEX 



Aberdeen- Angus, 237. 

Acetic acid, 107, 212. 

Acid, acetic, 107, 212; lactic, 107. 

Acid calcium carbonate, 7. 

Acid phosphate, 157, 160. 

Acid soils, 1 07-1 16. 

^olian soils, 27-28, map facing 32; 
size of particles in, 36. 

Air, I ; a soil-forming agency, 7-8 ; in 
soils, 58, 59, 109, iiS; relation to 
decay, 61 ; composition of, 130. 

Air-slaked lime, 113. 

Alabama soils, 25, 115. 

Alcohal, 212. 

Alfalfa, 103, 105, 112, 272; a legume, 
148, 150; seed pod. Fig. 79, 148; 
seed testing, 298-299. 

Alkali, 57, 59, no; effect of drainage 
on. 77-78. 

Alkaline substanceay 108-110. 

Alluvial soils, 26, map facing 32. 

Alsike clover, 112. 

American Poultry Association, 252. 

American Trotter, 244-245. 

Ammonia, 108, 109, 119; defined, 157. 

Ammonium chloride, 157. 

Ammonium compounds formed by bac- 
teria, 205. 

Ammonium sulfate, 157, 159. 

Andalusians, 253. 

Angora goats, 250, 31S-319. 

Angus. See Aberdeen- Angus. 

Animals as soil formers, 17. 

Animal unit defined, 322. 

Annual plants, 129. 

Anther, 163. 

Ants' "dairy cows," 199. 

Aphis, 192, 196. 

Apple canker, 216. 

Apple production, 278. 

Apple scab, 216. 

Apples, propagation of, 176, 180; af- 
fected by pear blight, 216. 

Arab horses, 245. 

Arkansas soils, 115. 

Arsenic, an insecticide, 196. 

Atoms, 2, 3. 

Ayrshires, 241. 

Baby beef, 304. 

Bacteria, 123, 131, 148-151, 201-219; 
in soil, 102, 115, 116, 118, 204-208; 
nature of, 135, 203-204; nitrate 
formers, 147, 205-208; nitrate de- 
stroyers, 15s ; distribution of, 203- 
204. 



Bacterial diseases, 208-209. 

Bananas, propagation of, 172-173. 

Bantams, 255. 

Bark of trees, 127. 

Barred Plymouth Rocks, 253. 

Basic slag, 160. 

Bean, a legume, 14S. 

Beef breeds, 236-239. 

Beef calves, raising of, 303-304. 

Beef cattle, difference between, and 

dairy cattle, 235 ; enterprises, 303- 

306. 
Bees, 192. 
Beeswax, 50. 
Beet, food storage in, 125; a biennial, 

129. 
Belgian horses, 245. 
Berkshires, 247, 248. 
Bermuda grass, 103, 272 ; manner of 

spreading, 175 ; weedy tendencies of, 

188. 
Berrj- production, 278. 
Biennials, 129. 
Blackberry vines, 124; propagation of, 

174, 176; orange rust of, 214. 
Blight, pear, see Pear blight ; potato, 

see Potato, late blight. 
Bluegrass Region soils, 16. 
Boll weevil, 197-199. 
Bone meal, 160. 
Bone tankage, 160. 
Brahma fowls, 255. 
Brahmin cattle, 238-239. 
Bread, use of yeast in, 212. 
Breathing of plants, 141-142. 
Breeders, production of, 220-232. 
Breeds, of livestock, 233-255 ; differ- 
ence between beef and dairy, 235. 
Briers, 124. 
Broncos, 246. 
Brown Leghorns, 254. 
Brown Swiss cattle, 242-243. 
Budding, 178-180. 
Buds, 123-124. 
Bud scales, 124. 
Bud sports, 184. 

Buildings, part of real estate, 323. 
Bulbs, 174; food storage in, 125. 
Bulls, importance of good, in dairy 

herds, 312. 
Bur clover, 104. 
Burning. See Combustion. 
Butter-fat prices, 312. 
Butterflies, 195. 
Butter production, 307, 308. 
Buzzard wing, 69. 



33^ 



Index 



337 



Cabbage, 112; adapted to muck land, 

38; a biennial, i2g. 
Cacti, 125. 
Calcium, 145, 156; nitrate of, 147; 

sources of, 153; phosphate of, 158. 
Calyx, 162. 

Cambium layer, 123, 180. 
Canning, relation to bacteria, 204. 
Capillary action, 45-50; space in soil. 

Capital, personal, 323 ; working, 323. 
Carbohydrates, required by animal 

body, 258; sources of, 260. 
Carbon, source of, in plants, 122, 142, 

152- 

Carbonic acid gas, 113, 122 ; in breath, 
7; in air, 130; in wells, 131; in silos, 
131; absorbed by leaves, 142-143; 
produced in fermentation, 212. 

Carrots, food storage in, 125. 

Cash for current expenses, part of work- 
ing capital, 323. ■ 

Catch crops, 104. 

Caterpillars, 192, 195, 199. 

Cattle, 223; breeds of, 235-243. 

Cayuses, 246. 

Celery, a muck-land crop, 38. 

Cell, 132-136; number in organisms, 

134- 
Cell division, 133, 135, 136; in seed 

formation, 165. 
Cell sap, 133, 134. 
Cellulose, composition of, 155. 
Certificate of registration, 231. 
Charcoal, 122. ■ 
Cheese factories, 307-308. 
Cheese production, 308. 
Chemical action in soil, 7-8, 17. 
Chemical elements, number of, 3, 4 ; 

required by crops, 152, 153. 
Chemical symbols, 4, 5, 145, 147. 
Chemistrj% facts from, 2-7. 
Cherries, propagation, 180. 
Chester Whites, 247. 
Cheviots, 240. 
Chickens, breeds of, 251-255. See also 

Poultry'. 
Chih saltpeter, 147, 159. 
ChUled plow, 45. 

Chlorin, injurious to certain crops, 160. 
Chlorophyl, 134, 143, 203. 
Cholera, hog, 316. 

Chromatin, 133, 134; bodies, 165, 166. 
Chrysalis, 20c. 
Cider, 212. 
Clay, defined, :i:i, 34. 
Clay loam, 34. 



Clay soil, 34, 35, 37, 39-44. 61, 115- 

Cleveland Bays, 244. 

Clod masher, 65. 

Clods, 39, 40. 

Clouds, 130. 

Clover, a legume, 14S; seed testing, 
298-299. 

Clydesdales, 244. 

Coal oil, 51-52. See also Kerosene. 

Cochineal insect, 192. 

Cochins, 255. 

Cocoons, 195. 

Cold frames, 300-301. 

Colluvial soil, 30-31, map facing 32. 

Columbia River basin, soils of, 36. 

Combustible material required by 
animal body, 258; proportion 
needed, 260-261. 

Combustion, 131, 256, 257. 

Commercial fertilizers. Sec Fertilizers. 

Complete fertilizer, 159. 

Compound substances, 4. 

Concentrates, 262-263. 

Condensaries, 307. 

Conducting tissue, 136. 

Cooperative marketing, 329-330. 

Copper, 4; sulfate of, 213, 215. 

Corn, 100, 104, 106; on muck land, 38; 
roots. Fig. 41, 73; water content, 
141; flowers of, 165, 168; cross- 
fertilized, 169; the leading crop, 270, 
271 ; seed selection and testing, 292- 
296; as hog feed, 315-316. 

Cornstalks, 223-224, 304. 

Corolla, 163. 

Corrugated roller, 91. 

Cotswolds, 249. 

Cotton, 92, 99, 100, loi, 105; limiting 
factor in acreage of, 274; leading 
fiber crop, 274-275 ; income per acre 
and per man, 327; why one-horse 
farming, 327. 

Cottonseed meal as fertilizer, 159. 

Cotton wilt, 216. 

Cowpeas, 104. 

Cows, dairy, importance of quality in, 
310-312; labor requirements, 313- 

314- 
Creameries, 307-308. 
Credit, part of working capital, 323. 
Crimson clover, 104, 105. 
Crops, areas, 270; how to grow, 285- 

302- 
Crossbreds, 170, 233. 5«' u/^y Hybrids. 
Cross-fertilization, 168. 
Crown (of plant), 130. 
Crystals, ice, 11; in soil, 18. 



33^ 



Index 



Cucumber blight, 216. 
Cultivated crops, relation to weed con- 
trol, 190. 
Cultivators, 70-72. 
Cup fungi, 219. 
Currants, propagation, 176. 
Cuttings, 177. 
Cyanamid, fertilizer, 159. 
Cytoplasm, 132-133, 134. 

Dairy breeds, 239-242. 

Dairy cattle, different from beef cattle, 

235- 
Dairy cows, labor required, 313-314. 

See also Cows. 
Dairv'ing, 306-315. 
Decay of organic matter in the soil, 

130-131- 

Devon cattle, 243. 

Dew, source, 130. 

Dirt mulch. See Mulch. 

Diseases of plants, 212-219. 

Disk harrow, 64. 

Disk plow, 45. 

Distribution of soil material, 21-32. 

Doddies. Same as Aberdeen-Angus. 

Dogs, a menace to sheep, 318. 

Dorsets, 249. 

Double flowers, 167. 

Double shovel, 69. 

Double standard cattle, 238. 

Downy mildews, 212-213. 

Drag harrow, 63. 

Drainage, 77-82, 1 13 ; effect on air and 
moisture in soil, 54 ; effect on alkali, 
77-7S; system, part of real estate, 
323- 

Dried blood, fertilizer, 159. 

Driving horses, personal capital, 323. 

Drought-resistant crops, 91-92. 

Dry farming, 88-92 ; limits, 83 ; rela- 
tion to humus, loi. 

Dry matter, defined, 141 ; sources in 
plants, 143. 

Dry soil, plowing and tilling, 39-40; 
capillary action in, 54-55. 

Ducks, 251. 

Durham cattle. See Shorthorns. 

Duroc- Jersey swine, 247, 24S. 

Durum wheat, 91. 

Dust mulch. See Mulch. 

Dutch Belted cattle, 242. 

Dwelling, rental value, 325. 

Elementary substance defined, 3, 4. 
Elements, chemical. See Chemical 
elements. 



Embryo, 171, 172. 

Endosperm, 172. 

Energj', bodily, 257. 

Engine, principle of, 257. 

EngUsh Race Horse, 244, 245. 

Epidermis, 164. 

Equipment, relation to profits, 333. 

E.xpenses, farm, 324. 

Fairj' rings, 219. 

Fancy points, 252. 

Farm, defined, 265; one-man, 224; 
two-man, 224-225; jjrimary busi- 
ness, 266; investment and income, 
323-335; property, 323; small, 326- 
328; size, relation to income, 332; 
how to acquire, 334-335- 

Farm business, 265-284. 

Farm income, 323, 324-326; details of, 
324; factors affecting, 329-334- 

Fat, animal, 125. 

Favorelles, 255. 

Feed and supphes, part of working 
capital, 323. 

Feeding, principles of, 256-264. 

Feedstufis, classes of, 262-263. 

Fences, part of real estate, 323. 

Ferns, 202. 

Fertility, relation to texture, 46-47 ; 
maintenance, 99-118. 

Fertilization, of ovules, 165-167; of 
flowers, 168. 

Fertilizer, terms, 157-158; formulas, 
158-159. ^ ■ 

Fertilizers, 99, loi, 116-118, 155-161 ; 
where mostly used, 26; for muck 
soils, 38; complete, 159 ; substances 
used, 159-161 ; kinds and amounts 
to use, 1 60-1 61; effect of price on 
use, 289. 

Feterita, 91. 

Flies, as disease carriers, 194. 

Flint, in limestone, 15, 16 ; in soil, 18, 26. 

Floats, 158, 160. 

Florida phosphate, 160. 

Flowers, 123; parts, 162-165; double, 
167; modifications of, 167. 

Food, storage in plants, 125-126; uses 
of, 256; classes required by animal 
body, 258-259; sources of constitu- 
ents, 259-260; variety in, necessary, 
261-262 ; furnished by the farm, 325. 

Food constituents, sources, 259. 

Formahn, 197, 215. 

French Coach Horse, 245. 

Frost, source of, 130. 

Fruit buds, 124. 



Index 



339 



Fruits, 117; food storage in, 126; 
cross-fertilized, 169; quantities 
needed, 268-269; as scarce of in- 
come, 275-276. 

Fuel furnished by the farm, 325. 

FuUbloods, 233. 

Fumigation, 197. 

Fungi, 123, 210-219; nature of, 202; 
structure, 209-211 ; fungous diseases, 
212-219. 

Galloways, 237. 

Game chickens, 255. 

Geese, 251. 

Germ of seeds, 171. 

Germ cells, 166. 

German Coach Horse, 245. 

Glacial bowlders, 23, 25. 

Glacial soils, 23-24; thickness, 13; 
location, 13, map facing s^- 

Glaciated stones, 12, 13. 

Glaciers, 28; as soil formers, 10-13; 
as soil movers, 23. 

Glass, attraction for water, 49-53- 

Goats, 250 ; place on the farm, 318-319. 

Gooseberries, propagation, 174; in- 
jured by powdery mildew, 213. 

Grade animals, 233. 

Grafts, 180-182; influence of stock, 
183-184; hereditary qualities, 184. 

Granitic soil, 22, map facing 32. 

Grape, propagation, 176, 177; injured 
bj' powdery mildew, 213. 

Grasshoppers, 192-193. 

Grass family, members of, 172. 

Grass flowers, 163. 

Grass seed, testing, 298-299. 

Gravel, defined, S3- 

Great Stone Face, 9. 

Green bug. Same as Aphis. 

Green coloring matter in plants, 122, 
133. 143- 

Green manures, 103-105, in, 112, 113. 

Green slime, 219. 

Ground fish, fertihzer, 159. 

Growth, rings, 127; manner of, 135. 

Guano, 157. 

Guernseys, 240-241. 

Guineas, 251. 

Gummy substances in soil, 18. 

Gypsum, 114, 156. 

Hackneys, 244. 
Hair, as fertilizer, 159. 
Hairy vetch, 104, 148. 
Hamburgs, 253. 
Hampshire sheep, 249. 



Hampshire swine, 247. 

Hardness of water, 56-57. 

Harrow, drag, 63 ; spring tooth, 63 ; 

disk, 64. 
Hay, on muck land, 38 ; water content, 

141; value as feed, 226; second in 

acreage, 270, 272. 
Heartwood, 123. 

Heat, how maintained in body, 257. 
Heavy soils, defined, 39. 
Heel, scrape, 69 ; sweep, 69. 
Herefords, 237. 
Higher fungi, 209-211. 
Hillside soil, 93, 96. 
Hog, wild, 234. 
Hog cholera, 316. 
Hogging down crops, 315. 
Hogs, 223, 315-316. See also Swine. 
Holsteins, 239. 
Home supplies, production of, 222, 266- 

267, 280, 331. 
Horns, undesirable, 238. 
Horses, breeds, 243-246. 
Hot bed, 300. 
Humus, 95, 96-97, 99, 100, 102, 103, 

106, 107, 116, 117, 118. 6V(' also 

Vegetable matter and Organic 

matter. 
Hybrids, 170; blue Andalusians, 254. 

See also Crossbreds. 
Hydrocyanic acid, 197. 
Hydrogen, source of, in plants, 153. 

Ice, a soil former, 9; expansion, 9, 20; 
flexibility, 1 1. 

Implements, tillage, 6S-72; part of 
working capital, 323. 

Income, per cow, relation to profit, 311; 
per man vs. per acre, 326-328; effect 
on. of power used, 327. 

Indiana muck soils, 38. 

Inoculation of legumes, 150. 

Insect life, stages, 195-196. 

Insects, 192-200; as pollen bearers, 
i6g, 193; domesticated, 192; num- 
ber of kinds, 192 ; relation to human 
welfare. 192-194; methods of feed- 
ing. 196. 

Internal structure of plants, 132-133. 

Irish potato. See Potato. 

Iron, 17, 145, 153. 

Irrigation, 82-87. 

Jerseys, 240. 

Johnson grass, 103, 125, 174, 272; 

eradication, 186-187. 
Jungle fowl, 254. 



340 



Index 



Kafir, 91, 92. 

Kainit, 160. 

Kerosene, 200. See also Coal oil. 

Labor, seasonal distribution, 280-281 ; 
on dairy farms, 313-314. 

Labor income, 325. 

Lactic acid, 107. 

Lacustrine soils. See Lake-bottom 
soils. 

Ladybug, 192. 

Lady Eglantine, 253, 254. 

Lake-bottom soils, 26, map facing 
32. 

Land plaster, 114, 156. 

Langshans, 255. 

Larva, 195. 

Lava, 36. 

Layering, 176. 

Lead arsenate, 196. 

Leaf buds, 124. 

Leaf mold, 118. 

Leather, as fertilizer, 150- 

Leaves, as fertilizers, 100, loi ; uses, 
122-123; arrangement on trees, 123 ; 
absorption of CO2, 142-143. 

Leghorns, 253. 

Legumes, 148-151; proteins in, 259- 

Leicester sheep, 249. 

Light, action in starch formation, 122, 
144. 

Light soils, defined, 39. 

Lime, 108, 113-116. 

Limestone, 113-115; action when 
heated, 5, 7 ; muriatic acid test for, 
118. 

Limestone soils, formation of, 13, 21; 
location, 14, 21, map facing 32. 

Limcwater, 6, 119. 

Lincoln sheep, 249. 

Litmus, 113, 118. 

Liver fluke, 317-318. 

Livestock, purposes for which kept, 
221; as scavengers, 223 ; for winter 
employment, 224-225; relation to 
size of business, 225-226; as market 
for crops, 226-227; as fertility pro- 
ducers, 227-22S; production of 
breeders, 229-232; effect on crop- 
ping system, 281 ; enterprises, 303- 
321. 

Loam soil, 34, 35, 36, 37, 61. 

Long-wool breeds, 249. 

Louisiana soils, 25. 

Louse, as a disease carrier, 194. 

Lower organisms, 201-202. 

Lye, 108, 119. 



Maggots, 195. 

Magnesium, 145, 153, 156. 

Magnet, 2. 

Malaria, 193. 

Mangum terrace, 76-77. 

Manure, 102, 152; on muck land, 38; 

fermentation, 155, 208; bacteria in, 

203 ; value, 227-229. 
Manure spreader, 103. 
Maple sugar, 126. 
Marine sediment, 24, 116, 117, map 

facing 32. 
^Marketing, 329-330. 
Market milk, 30S-310. 
Marl, 114. 

Meadow, use of term, 37. 
Means grass. See Johnson grass. 
Melon blight, 216. 
Merinos, 249. 
Michigan muck lands, 38. 
Milk, sour, bacteria in, 203. 
Milk condensaries, 307. 
Millet, 190. 
Milo, 91. 
Mineral plant food materials, 96, 98, 

145, 146. 
Mineral substances, required by animal 

body, 258; sources, 260; animals 

which need, 262. 
^linorcas, 253. 
Mississippi River bottom, 26, 28, map 

facing 32. 
Mississippi soils, 25, 115. 
Mistletoe, 202-203. 
Mohair, 250. 
Moisture, soil, how held, 55. See also 

Soil moisture. 
Moldboard plow, 44. 
Molds (fungi), 204. 
Molecules, 3, 4, 49. 
Mongrels, 233. 
Mosquitoes, 193, 198, 200. 
Mosses, 112, 202. 
Moths, 195. 
]Muck, 37-39; effect cf manure on, 

38; color of, 47; need of potash, 

156. 
Muddy water, clarifying, 119. 
Mulch, soil, 45-46, 89; of sand, 73. 
Mulefoot hog, 248. 
Mules, 222. 
Multiplier onion, 175. 
Muriatic acid, 118. 
Mushrooms, 219. 
Mustangs, 246. 
Mutton breeds, 249. 
Mycelium of fungi, 209. 



Index 



341 



Nectar, i6g. 

New soils, 03-05- 

New York muck land, 38. 

Nitrate, destroyers, 206-207 ; fertili- 
zers, 152; formation of, 205-208. 

Nitrates, 155; symbol of, 147. 

Nitrites, 205. 

Nitrogen, 146; in air, 130; combined, 
sources, 146-147, 152; fixing bac- 
teria, 148-151; organic, 151; ferti- 
lizers, list, 159; substances contain- 
ing, required by animal body, 258; 
sources of, as food constituent, 259. 

Norman horses, 244. 

Nucleus, 133, 134, 203. 

Nut grass, 190. 

Oat rust, 214. 

Oats, 100, 163, 273 ; on muck land, 38. 

Ocean bed, soil material on, 25-26. 

Ohio muck land, 38. 

One-horse farming, 326, 327, 328. 

One-man farm, 224. 

Onions, on muck soil, 38 ; food storage 
in, 125; propagation, 174. 

Orange rust of blackberry, 214. 

Orchards, irrigation of, 87. 

Organic matter, gS ; relation to fer- 
tility, 17; sources, 17, 19; relation 
to water-holding capacity, 56; rela- 
tion to tillage, 61 ; defined, 93-94, 
99; function in the soil, 95, 96-97; 
effect of lirpe on, 116; food for bac- 
teria, 152, 204. 

Organic nitrogen, 151. 

Orpingtons, 253. 

Osmosis, 137, 138, 257. 

Ostriches, 251. 

Ovary, 164, 165. 

Ovules, 165, 166. 

Oxen, 222. 

O.xford sheep, 249. 

O.xygen, 122; in air, 130; sources, in 
plants, 152-153; in blood, 257. 

Oyster shells, 114. 

Paraffin, 50. 

Parasitic plants, 201-219. 

Paris green, 196. 

Pasture, 104. 

Peaches, propagation, 180. 

Peafowls, 251. 

Pea pod, 148. 

Pear blight, 193, 209. 

Pears, propagation, 180. 

Peas, legumes, 148. 

Peat, 38. 



Peppermint, 38. 

Percherons, 244. 

Perennials, 130. 

Perishables, 279. 

Personal capital, 323. 

Personal property, 323. 

Petals, 162, 169, 170. 

Pet stock, 323. 

Phosphate, 155, 158; rock, 157, 158, 

160; list of fertihzers, 160. 
Phosphoric acid, 158. 
Phosphorus, 145, 153, 155. 
Photosynthesis, 144. 
Pigeons, 251. 
Pistil, 164. 
Plank drag, 65. 
Plant, roots, 19; food, 96, no, 116, 

122, 142-143, 145; organs, 121-128; 

propagation, 162-185; diseases, 212- 

219. 
Planting, depth of, 286. 
Plants as soil formers, 17. 
Pleasure vehicles, 323. 
Plowing, 39-43, 113; depth of, 61; 

purpose of, 61. 
Plows, types, 44-45. 
Plums, propagation, 180. 
Plymouth Rocks, 253. 
Poland Chinas, 247, 248. 
Polar ice caps, n. 
Polled cattle, 237, 238, 239-240. 
Pollen, 163-164, 166; tube, 166. 
Ponies, 245-246. 
Poplars, propagation, 177. 
Potash, 158; for muck land, 38; soils 

requiring, 156; fertilizers, list, 160. 
Potassium, 145, 153; nitrate, 147; 

sources, isO; chlorid, 160; eft'ect 

on certain crops, 160; sulfate, 160. 
Potatoes, 125; relation to acid soil, 

112; scab, 112, 216; injured by 

chlorin, 160; eyes, 173; late blight 

of, 212-213; seed selection, 296- 

297 ; planting for seed, 297-298. 
Poultrj', 223, 251-255; breeds, 251- 

255; standards, 252; business, 319- 

321 ; products, demand for, 320-321. 

See also Chickens. 
Powdery mildews, 213. 
Power, amount used, 327. 
Precipitate, 7. 
Prices, effect on yield, 289 ; effect on 

income, 329. 
Prickly pear, 125. 
Production of breeders, 229-232. 
Productive stock, s^i- 
Propagation of plants, 162-175. 



342 



Index 



Property, farm, 323. 

Proteins, required by animal body, 258 ; 

sources of, as a food constituent, 259 ; 

proportion needed, 260-261. 
Puddling of soil, 41-42, 73. 
Pupa, 195. 
Purebred, 233 ; relative value, 233 ; 

wellbred vs., 235. 

Quack grass, 125, 174; eradication, 187. 
Quartz, in earth's crust, 8; in soil, 26. 
Quicklime, 5, 6, 113; slaking, 6. 
Quicksilver, 3. 
Quinces, propagation, 176. 

Rag-doll method of testing seed corn, 

294-296. 
Rain, as soil-moving agency, 30-31; 

source of, 130. 
Rainfall west of Rockies, 89. 
Range sheep, 317-318. 
Raspberry, propagation, 174-176. 
Real estate, 323. 
Receipts, farm, 324. 
Red clover, 105, 112. 
Red Polls, 242. 

Registration of farm animals, 230-232. 
Renting, 333-335- 
Residual soils, 21-22. 
Resting fields, 107. 
Rhode Island Reds, 253. 
Rings of growth, 127. 
Rocks, of earth's crust, i ; action of 

soil water on, 8. 
Roller, 64. 

Root hairs, 121, 125, 138, 139, 140. 
Roots, water absorbed by, 60 ; need of 

air, 61 ; relation to open space in the 

soil, 63; relation to tillage, 72, 73; 

corn, 73 ; uses, 121 ; food storage in, 

125. 
Rootstocks, 125, 186, 187. 
Rose bushes, 124. 
Roses, propagation, 177. 
Rosette of winter annual, 129. 
Rotation, relation to weed control, 190. 
Roughage, 262-263. 
Runners, 175. 
Rusts of grains, 214-215. 
Rye, 91, 104, 105. 

Saddle horse, 244, 245. 
Salt, composition, 4. 
Sand, defined, 33 ; a soil type, 34-35. 
Sandstone, origin of, 22. 
Sandstone and shale soils, 22, map fac- 
ing 32. 



Sandy clay, 35. 

Sandy loam, 34. 

Sandy soils, 61, 115, 118; tillage of, 39- 
44; need of potash, 156; truck 
farming on, 276. 

Sap, storage of food in, 126. 

Sapwood, 123. 

Scale in boilers, 57, 59. 

Scale insects, 196, 198. 

Scavengers, 223, 317, 319-321. 

Scion, 180, 183. 

Scooter, 69. 

Scrape, 69. 

Scrub animals, 233. 

Seaweeds, 202. 

Sedimentary soils, 24-26, map facing 
32. 

Seed, bed, good, 66-67; pod, 164; 
formation, 165-167 ; formed without 
fertilization, 167; importance of 
good, 286; selection and care, 290- 
299 ; corn, selection and care, 292- 
296 ; potatoes, selection, 296-297 ; 
production as a business, 299-300. 

Seed testing, corn, 294-296; small 
seeds, 298-299. 

Seeds, food storage in, 126; injury by 
fertilizers, 160; structure of, 170- 
172; depth of planting, 286. 

Self-fertilization, 168. 

Sepals, 162. 

Sets, 126, 174. 

Shale, origin of, 22. 

Sheep, 223, 316-318; breeds of, 248- 
249. 

Shetland ponies, 245-246. 

Shires, 244. 

Shorthorns, 236, 

Shropshires, 249. 

Silkworms, 192, 195. 

Silos, CO2 gas in, 131. 

Silt, S3, 34; loam, 34. 

Sires, importance of, 234. 

Size of farm, 332. 

Slag, Thomas (basic), 160. 

Slaked lime, 6, 7, 113, 114. 

Smothering crops, 190. 

Smuts, 214-215. 

Sod, pulverizing, 64-65 ; crops, 103. 

Soda, 117- 

Sodium, symbol, 5; nitrate, 147, 159. 

Softness of water, 56-57. 

Soil, I- 1 20; thickness of, i; agencies 
in forming, 7-18; nature of, 8; 
erosion, 8, 27-28; water, 8, 98; 
complexity of, 17-18; gummy sub- 
stances in, 18 ; cubic inch, magnified, 



Index 



343 



i8-ig; particles, 19; sizes, 35, 35- 
37. 47-48; types, 34-39. 117; pud- 
dling, 41-42, 73; color, 47; air, 58, 
5g, 118, 130; improvement, 93-120; 
bacteria, 118, 203, 204-208; inocu- 
lation, 150. 

Soil material, on ocean bed, i, 25-26; 
origin of, 7-18; distribution of, 21- 
32. 

Soil moisture, 39-44, 49-50. 

Soil particles, 19; size, a, 35-37, 47, 
48. 

Soil texture, 33-48 ; relation to plow 
types, 44-45 ; relation to mulch, 
45-46 ; relation to fertilization, 46- 
47 ; method of testing, 47 ; relation 
to capillary action, 55-56. 

Sorghum, 106, 190; drought resistance 
of, 91. 

Sorrel, 112. 

Soudan grass, 91. 

Sour milk, 107. 108, 119, 203. 

Sourness of soil. 107, 116. 

South Carolina rock phosphate, 160. 

Southdowns, 249. 

Soy beans, 104. 

Spanish fowls, 253. 

Specialized vs. general farming, 282- 
283. 

Sphere, volume of, 20. 

Spiketooth harrow. Same as Drag 
harrow. 

Spines, 125. 

Spores, 201-202; of toadstool, 211. 

Sports, bud, 184. 

S[)ot fungi, 215. 

Springtooth harrow, 63, 64. 

Spring wheat, 272-273. 

Sprouts, 121, 173. 

Squashbug, 196, 197. 

Stamens, 163. 

Staple crops, 229. 

Starch, storage as food, 125; forma- 
tion of, 133, 144; food for bacteria, 
204. 

Steers, fattening of, 304-306. 

Stems of plants, uses, 122-123. 

Stigma, 164. 

Stomach worms, 317-318. 

Stone fences, 24, 25. 

Stones, weathering of, 8 ; rolling, as 
soil formers, 10. 

Straw, 304; fertilizing value, loi ; 
food for bacteria, 204 ; utilization 
of, 223-224. 

Strawberries, propagation, 175; in- 
come from, 326. 



Structure of the earth, r. 

Style, 164. 

Subsoiling, 62-63. 

Subsoils, humus content of, 62. 

Sub.surface packer, 90. 

Suckers, i73- 

Sugar, 107,- 108; storage as food, 125. 

Sugar beets, irrigation of, 86; injured 

by certain fertilizers, 160. 
Sulfur, 4. 114, 145; sources, 153; use 

as fertilizer, 156. 
Sulfureted hydrogen, 197. 
Sulfuric acid, 158. 
Summer-fallow, 190. 
Sunflowers, flowers of, 164. 
Surface cultivator, 71. 
Swamp land, defined, 37. 
Sweep, 68, 69. 
Sweet clover, 150. 
Sweet potato, food storage in, 125; 

propagation, 173-174, 177. 
Swine, breeds of, 247-248. 
Symbols, chemical, 4-7, 145, 147. 

Tallow, 50. 

Tankage, fertilizer, 159; bone, 160. 

Tenant farming, 333-335- 

Tennessee phosphate, 160. 

Terracing, 74-77. 

Texas, soils of, 25, 115. 

Thomas slag, 160. 

Thorns, 124. 

Thoroughbreds, 244, 245. 

Tick fever, 193-194. 

Tile, how made, 78-79. 

Tillage, 60-73, ii3l relation to mois- 
ture, 39, 44 ; before plowing, 65-66 ; 
why certain crops are tilled, 68. 

Tillage implements, 68-72. 

Timothy, and clover, 103, 272 ; food 
storage in, 125. 

Toadstools, 211, 219. 

Tobacco, 160, 173; worms, 195. 

Tomato blight, 216. 

Tractors, 290. 

Transported soils, 22-31. 

Trotter, 244. 

Truck crops, irrigation. 83. 

Truck farming, 38, 39, 275-276. 

Tubercles, 149, 150. 

Tuberculosis, 209. 

Tubers, 125. 

Turkeys, 251. 

Turnips, 125, 129. 

Two-horse farm, 326, 328. 

Two-man farm, 224-225. 

Types of soil, 34-39- 



344 



Index 



Typhoid fever, 194. 
Typhus fever, 194. 

Valley soil, 93, 96. 

Variety in food for animals, 261-262. 

Vegetable matter, in muck soil, 37-3S; 
relation to soil color, 47 ; in dry 
farming, loi. See also Humus and 
Organic matter. 

Vegetables, 117 ; why hard to sell, 268 ; 
quantities needed, 269 ; as source of 
income, 275-276. 

Vetches, 104, 148. 

Vinegar, 107. 

Vitamins, necessary in food for ani- 
mals, 259; sources of, 260. 

Water, i ; freezing, expansion of, 9 ; 
capillary action in soil, 53-58; 
hardness of, 56-57 ; amount used by 
plants, 60, 122; how lost, 88-89; 
clarifying of muddy, 115, 119; uses 
in plants, 140; amount in plants, 
141. 

Water pipes, bursting of, g. 

Water supply, part of real estate, 328. 

Water vapor in air, 130. 

Waxy material in soil, 19. 

Weeds, 61, 66-68, 186-191 ; why in- 
jurious, 89; as green manure, 106- 
107. 



Wet soil, tillage of, 41-44; capillary 

action in, 54-55. 
Wheat, 91 ; a member of the grass 

family, 163 ; stigmas of, 165 ; rust, 

214; third crop in acreage, 272; 

limits, winter and spring, 272-273. 
White Leghorns, 254. 
White Wyandottes, 253. 
Wild garlic, 174, 175, 1S8-189. 
Wild mustard, 190. 
Willows, propagation, 177. 
Wind, a soil transporter, 36. 
Windbreaks, 38-39. 
Winter annuals, 129, 189-190. 
Winter wheat, 272-273. 
Wood, components of, 256. 
Wood ashes, 98, 160, 256. 
Wool breeds, 249. 
Wool waste as fertilizer, 159. 
Working capital, 323. 
Work stock, 221-222, 223. 
Wrigglers, 198. 
Wyandottes, 253. 



Yeasts, 134, 135, 204, 211-212. 

Yellow fever, 193. 

Yields, how obtained, 285-288; effect 

on profits, 288; effect of prices on, 

289. 
Yorkshires, 247. 



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